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Plastic free July got me thinking about how much plastic we use in our home. I thought we were pretty good but when you stop and actually take stock of what you use it was quite shocking.
One thing that we seem to use a lot of is cling film, mainly because it’s so convenient. I started to do some research into alternatives and one suggestion was beeswax wraps.
Related Post: 7 Reusable Alternatives to Cling Film
Homemade Beeswax Wraps
You can *buy pre made ones but they are quite expensive. My friend and I decided to make our own instead so we went halves on a bag of beeswax.
My friend’s mother is a keen sewer and she very kindly donated us a load of off cuts of material which was great. After watching a few tutorials on YouTube we came to the conclusion that it looks easy to do.
To start with we tried to bake the beeswax wraps in the oven. This didn’t work very well at all. So we then tried to iron them. This did work.
I thought I’d break down the steps with you so you can attempt to make your own…
What You Will Need
- Material (Preferably thin cotton)
- Scissors
- Beeswax Pellets – (You can buy them *here)
- Grease proof paper
- Large baking tray
- Iron
Step 1
Cut your material to the size you want. We opted for a variety of sizes to suit different bowls and containers.
You can use pinking shears to get a nice edge on the material but it’s not a necessity.
It’s important to take into account the type of material you use. I tried to use material from one of my old tops and it didn’t work very well. We found that the best material to use was thin cotton.
Step 2
Once you have your material cut to the size you then need to set it up ready for the wax.
We used grease proof paper to line the bottom of a baking tray. You then place the material on top of the paper.
Pour your beeswax pellets over the material a small handful should suffice. Then cover the material and beeswax with more greaseproof paper. You can *buy beeswax pellets online or speak to a local beekeeper.
Step 3
Now you iron over your material and the wax. Don’t have your iron too hot and don’t keep it on for too long.
You can start to see the wax pellets melting and you can push them around with the iron to fully coat the material.
Don’t get any wax on your iron!
Step 4
The final stage is to peel your material away from the greaseproof paper. You need to do this straight away. Then hang your beeswax wrap up to dry. It doesn’t take long.
That’s it! It’s really easy once you get into the swing of it.
I love my wraps and use them every day. I’m even going to make some more as I didn’t quite make enough. Apparently, after about a year of use, you may need to re-do them with some more wax.
You can use elastic bands to keep them sealed around a container or the warmth of your hands will seal them.
To wash them use washing up liquid and give them a gentle scrub over. Leave them to dry.
Have you attempted homemade beeswax wraps before? If so I’d love to know how you made them.