Reusable Beeswax Wraps
This is a super easy project to make reusable wraps using cotton and organic beeswax.
Materials Needed:
Cotton fabric (I recommend pre-washed and ironed) – obviously I got mine at FabMo
Organic beeswax pellets (I used this organic, cosmetic grade beeswax)
Oven, mits, aluminum foil, wax paper
And here is how it works:
Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees F
Cut the fabrics to the desired sizes. I made some square and some circular ones. To figure out the sizes you can use your bowls put them on the fabric and cut with an 1-2″ allowance around the edges (depending non the size of the container you want to cover, for a larger bowl, leave more allowance than for a small one)
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
Place the fabric onto the foil and sprinkle the beeswax pellets on top so they cover ca. 60% of the surface
Pop the whole thing into the oven and wait until the pellets have completely melted and the wax has soaked into the fabric (it took quite a while, about the length of one dinner but check after 10 minutes and then every 5 thereafter)
Working quickly, take the baking sheet out of the oven, grab 2 fabric pieces by the corners, hold them in the air and let them cool until the wax has hardened (the surface will look whitish). Hold them over the aluminum lined sheet as some wax will dribble off. Once they are no longer tacky, lay them out flat on the wax paper and let them cool completely.
Beeswax wraps cooling off on a wax paper covered backing sheet
Repeat with more fabric pieces until done (if the wax starts hardening, no problem, just stick everything back in the oven until the wax melts again).
Keep the waxy aluminum foil for the next batch.
Once harden they are ready to use. The waxy cloth will hold it’s shape when put over a container. It will crease but you can always put them back in the oven for a bit after a few uses, (e.g. the cooling oven after you roasted a chicken, etc.)
You can clean the wraps under warm water with a bit of dish soap and reuse.
Things that can go wrong
Not much really, and most mistakes are reversible. The first time I tried this project I was too generous with the wax covering probably 80% rather than 60-70% of the surface which resulted in wraps that were a bit too inflexible. The cloth should be soaked but there shouldn’t be much excess.
This is a super easy project, not even sewing straight lines involved!
Make a pretty matching or coordinating set and one for a friend.