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Container Candle Craze

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I walked to the grocery store and bought 12 mason jars to make container candles.

They only cost eight dollars and I like the fact that they have lids so you can put them back on when you’re not using them. That way the scent doesn’t leech out faster than you would like.

They’re one of the easiest candles to make especially when your wicks are pretabbed wicks  and you have these wick stickums to hold them down. They’re two sided round stickers that stick to the tabs so they don’t fly all over the place.

I made vanilla and jasmine scented container candles. To color the vanilla I added about a quarter of a brown dye chip to a pound of soy wax and for the jasmine, I added half a red once they heated up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the scent, I used solid concentrated scent from Yardley. It says to add an eighth or more so I used a third, since I’m sick of having weak scented candles. We will see how that goes.

I used a little over two pounds of wax and that ended up making three container candles. Since I only had a bit of vanilla and jasmine scented wax left over I made a layered candle with the last one and I think it turned out pretty. This time I was patient and waited for the first layer to completely cool.

I have nine more jars to go and I was going to make some with lavender essential oil but since it’s one in the morning here, I think I will leave them for another day.

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Knit a Great Button Down Shirt

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting. 

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of. 

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams. 

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs. 

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty. 

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this). 

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry. 

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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