Which wax and wick for pouring some candles?

[LonArcvarden]

The wife suggested I pour us some candles after we used up most of our store-bought candles during a recent power outage. I'm going to make some molds by carving out small logs but I don't know anything about pouring a candle. What kind of wax is economical to purchase that will perform well? And is the ball of cotton I use to tie up rib roasts suitable for the wick or should I buy purpose-made wick material? I'm only planning on making a small batch of these - not selling candles at a craft show (I hope)

[princemeraj]

I seem to remember that using plain cotton instead of the treated "wick" stuff means you can end up with a much larger flame than you want as the candle burns and the wick doesn't necessarily burn down the way you're used to.

[MichaelSavan]

For simple pours in carved log molds, I’ve had the best luck with plain paraffin or soy since they melt easy and don’t cost much. I match the wick to the diameter of the log, usually a medium cotton braid so the flame doesn’t tunnel. I sometimes read up on things like a candle to eliminate cigarette smoke for ideas on clean‑burning wax blends, since those tend to burn steady and smell decent.