Do you want to reduce your plastic consumption. Are you feeling creative? Well, the bees have your back.
Beeswax can be used as a more sustainable option that can be sustited for cling film. It can be used as covers that fold up around foods and cover bowls of leftovers. Rinse clean with cold water and mild soap and you can reuse them time and time again. Whilst you can buy these online, it is also possible to make them.
Here is a easy guide that you can follow:
What you need:
- Cosmetic-grade beeswax pellets
- 100% cotton fabric
- Scissors or pinking shears
- Brush
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
- Hanger (optional)
- Binder clips or clothespins (optional)
- Ruler (optional)
- Iron/oven
Some tutorials call for jojoba oil or powdered pine resin, but we found that these more expensive ingredients didn't add any major benefits in our tests
STEPS:
1. Cut the fabric.
Preheat the oven to 200°F or the lowest setting. Cut the fabric into sizes that will fit on your baking sheet. For a snack bag, use a 7" by 14" piece of fabric. A 14" by 14" square will cover most sandwiches. Pinking shears will help prevent your swatches from fraying, but scissors will also get the job done.
2. Place on the baking tray
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the fabric on top. If your fabric is one-sided, place the patterned side facedown. Use a fresh piece of parchment paper each time you make another wraps.
3. Sprinkle the pellets
Evenly distribute a liberal amount of beeswax pellets all over the fabric. Make sure you get pellets near the edges too.
4. Heat
Alternatively, you can use an iron and place it on a heat proof surface. Run the iron over the beeswax on top of the piece of baking paper.
Heat an empty iron on a wool setting, or put in oven to around 150°C
5. Let dry.
Using tongs, remove the fabric from the baking sheet. It should feel cool to the touch after waving it for a few seconds in the air. Hang the fabric up to dry or set it on the back of a chair with the beeswax side facing up.
6. Customize your wraps.
Once the beeswax has set and is not very tacky, you can add buttons or hand-sew them into small pouches.
TOP TIPS:
Snack Bags: Use a 7" x 14" piece of fabric. Once dry, fold the fabric in half with the non-treated sides facing inward. Hand sew the two sides together, leaving the top open. Turn the bag inside out, and add a button as a closure or stitch Velcro to both sides.
Melting: Beeswax has a low melting point, so make sure the item you're wrapping is cool before using the wraps
Beeswax wraps are not suitable for microwave use.
If your wraps start to lose their stickiness or noticeable folds appear, you can refresh them by ironing each wrap between two sheets of baking paper. Let them cool and harden before using again
