text: in the following description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments of the invention . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention . while the invention has been shown and described with respect to the particular embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims . the disclosure herein is not to be taken in a limiting sense , and the scope of the invention is defined only by the appended claims and their full range of equivalents . wicks of the present invention are composed of any conventional wick materials or combination thereof and may be made in any conventional manner . thus , the wick of the present invention may be made from materials such as synthetic materials , cotton , paper , wood , other natural fibers , or any combination thereof . the wick may also contain lead , zinc , zinc alloy , tin , lead , or other materials to promote rigidity of the wick and / or burn performance . these types of materials may be included as a ‘ core ’ to the wick ( i . e . formed in an interior portion of the wick material itself ). further , the candle wick of the present invention may be treated with a mordant or may be coated with wax or other materials to promote and to control the burn of the wick . the wick material of the present invention may take on virtually any size , diameter , and / or thickness as needed to create the desired amount of heat and the desired burn . wick length ( i . e . height ) may be determined by the size of the candle and the wick may protrude slightly from the fill line or top surface of the wax to facilitate initial ignition of the candle . the wick may be woven in any conventional manner including , but not limited to plaited , square braided , or tubular braided . the wick may be manufactured by any weaving or cloth making machine such as , but not limited to , machines used to make ribbon , fabric , cloth , rope or other textiles . the wick may also be constructed by twisting , braiding , or knitting . as in the conventional art , the choice of the wick material &# 39 ; s size and shape may be dictated in part by the wax and container in order to achieve the desired burn , including amount of fuel drawn by the wick , burn time of the candle , clean burning qualities , wick clogging , reduction of carbon heading ( mushrooming ), resist or promote wick bending while burning , even burn , smoking , clogging , curling , consistent burn rate , rate of wax consumption , wax melt point , environmental design of the candle ( for example , indoor / outdoor use ), composition of the candle body , or other considerations . the candle &# 39 ; s body of the present invention may be made of any conventionally used material or combination of materials and by any conventional candle making process . for instance , the candle may be made from paraffin , beeswax , soy , other plant waxes , gel , tallow , spermaceti , polyethylene , or any other synthetic wax , mineral oil or other oil , or any other fuel in solid , liquid , gel or other form . the candle body may also be made of a blend of any of these types of materials or other materials . additives such as fragrance oils , essential oils , aniline - based dye , other fragrance , color , insect - repellant , other additive , or a blend thereof may be included in or as part of the candle body . other types of additives such as stones , figures , toys , beads , or any other decoration may also be included within or on the candle . the candle container may be in any shape , and made from any conventional material such as glass , crystal , wood , plastic , ceramic , metal , or other natural or synthetic material or combination thereof . flexible wick tabs or stands may also be used to support and anchor wicks to the bottom of the container or candle body . further , a cap may be used on the outside of the wick tab for embodiments of the present invention such as floating candles . the wick tab and / or cap may also be used to secure and further support the shape formed by the wick . this provides added stability for the shape of the wick during the process of making the candle and promotes continued stability and support for the shape created by the wick in liquid or gel type candles . the candle itself may be formed by any conventional method such as filling , molding , dipping , or rolling . turning now to fig1 , the figure provides an illustration of a bulk roll of material 100 from which the wicks may be constructed . because the wick can be produced in a bulk role , the ultimate shape of the wick at its top surface may be formed , not by the raw or woven material itself , but by its final shape or placement in the candle . the roll of material 100 can be produced by virtually any weaving machine that may be used ( but not necessarily ) in the production of ribbon , fabric , cloth , rope , or string . alternatively , an existing weaving machine may also be modified for this candle use , or the machine may be modified to create the final shape of the wick so as to not require any further shaping of the wick during the candle making process . for instance , the machine may be modified to create a ribbon - like wick that is preformed in a complex 3 - d pattern or shape during the wick manufacturing so that the final shape of the wick appears as a shape in the top surface of the completed candle . the size of the weave and denier of the base fibers may also vary to suit the needs of the particular candle . fig2 is a view of the ribbon wick in a closed shape in a container , prior to filling the container with wax . the wick 200 is placed inside a candle container 210 . although not shown in this figure , the wick 200 can be shaped and fixed to the bottom of the container 220 with a wick tab or stand . as shown , the top surface ( and any other horizontal cross - section ) of the wick 200 takes the shape of a closed circle or ellipse . fig3 displays wick 300 and container 310 after being filled with wax 320 . as shown in fig3 , the wick 300 is formed in a closed shape resembling an ellipse . wax 320 is both enclosed by and surrounds the wick 300 . the wick 300 protrudes from the top fill line of the wax 320 and extends throughout the body of the candle in a column - like form . in this embodiment , the wick 300 is concentric to both the candle body 320 and the container 310 . when lit , the flame takes on the ellipse shape at the top surface of the wick 300 made by the shape created by wick 300 in disposed in the wax 320 . the wick 300 in this figure mimics the shape of both the container 310 and the candle wax 320 . although the central , vertical axis is not drawn in the figure , it can be seen that the wick 300 is disposed approximately halfway between the central , vertical axis and the container 310 . fig4 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which the candle body 420 and wick 400 are not housed in a container . thus , the candle is free - standing . fig5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention , in which wick 500 is disposed in container 510 and wax 520 . the closed shape of this embodiment resembles a rectangle or square at the top surface of the wick . as shown , each side of the wick 500 is disposed approximately halfway between the center of the candle and the side of the container 510 . wax 520 fills the interior of the shape created by the wick 500 and also surrounds the outside of the wick 500 . fig6 illustrates yet another closed form shape of the wick of the present invention . in this figure , the wick 600 resembles a star at the top surface of wick 600 and extends vertically through the candle body 620 and container 610 . although not shown in the figures , other embodiments featuring various closed forms at the top surface of the wick are possible . embodiments include all other geometric and organic shapes created by the placement of the wick disposed in a candle of various sizes and shapes . other contemplated embodiments include letters , numbers , or words spelled out by the wick . still other embodiments include pictures such as flags , animals , and repeating patterns such as a honeycomb or other patterns . fig7 illustrates an open form shape of the wick . in this figure , the wick 700 takes a line shape and extends in a plane throughout the vertical body of the candle 720 and container 710 . as shown in the figure , the wick 700 is disposed in the candle body 720 so as to extend along a majority of the length the candle body 720 at the candle &# 39 ; s top surface . fig8 illustrates another open form shape of the wick . in this figure , the wick 800 takes an organic “ wiggly ” shape and extends throughout the vertical body of the candle 820 and container 810 . while this invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited in any way to the disclosed embodiments , thus , the description above is merely set forth for illustrative purposes only . in fact , the array of shapes , patterns and forms of the wick are limited only by the bounds of one &# 39 ; s imagination . the present inventive product is intended to cover an array of various modifications and equivalent arrangements , all of which are contemplated for inclusion within the scope and spirit of the disclosure and appended claims .