How to Make a Wick for a Vegetable Oil Lantern

Choose a glass container to use for the oil lamp and measure the distance from the base to the brim. This is the maximum height for the wick.

Straighten out a length of wire slightly shorter than the height of the container, but do not cut the wire. The wire should be quite thin so that this task can easily be done by hand. This part is where the string wick will be threaded onto.

Coil the wire for two or three turns below the wick. This should now look like a vertical piece of wire with a couple of wire rings below it in a spiral shape. The coils are to give the wick a solid base in the bottom of the container.

Make a second wick if required by straightening out another section of wire the height of the container and cut the wire at the top with wire cutters. This is not a necessity, but will add extra light or heat. If not adding a second wick, cut the wire at the end of the third coil.

Cut a length of string the height of one of the vertical parts of the wire frame and push it all the way down the length of the wire. Repeat for the other wick if using two.

Place the wire frame and wicks inside the container and squash it down so the wire supports the wicks properly. Fill the container with oil to just below the top of the wick and light.