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Homemade cloth food wraps in a stack and wrapped with a piece of string.
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4.45 from 25 votes

Beeswax Wraps

Homemade beeswax wrap to use in place of plastic wrap
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 8 wraps
Author Kathy Berget

Equipment

  • Pinking Shears
  • Scale
  • Baking Tray
  • Pot
  • Glass Jar - Heat safe
  • Wooden Spoon
  • Parchment paper
  • Disposable paint brush
  • Twine
  • Clothes pins

Ingredients

  • Cotton material - I buy quilting fat quarters which often come in a mixed bundle of different fabrics and are cut into 18 inch squares.
  • Beeswax 2 ounces - Use your own homegrown beeswax or buy beeswax.
  • Pine Resin 2 ounces - Make certain it's food quality resin.
  • Jojoba Oil ½ ounce

Instructions

  • Cut material into squares using pinking shears so edges don't fray
    Patterned material cut with pinking shears.
  • Measure out 2 ounces of beeswax, 2 ounces of pine resin and ½ of an ounce of jojoba oil into a heat proof glass jar or measuring cup
    Beeswax, pine resin and a paint brush on a white surface.
  • Place glass jar into pot and fill pot with water. Place pot over high heat until water begins to boil. Monitor boiling water and contents in jar. Add more water to pot as water evaporates.
    A glass measuring cup filled with beeswax and pine resin in a pot filled with boiling water.
  • When the beeswax and resin begins to melt, stir occasionally with the thin handle of a wooden spoon or a wooden chop stick.
    Melting beeswax in a glass measuring cup.
  • When fully melted, give a good stir and remove from heat
  • Place a piece of parchment paper on an old baking sheet.
  • Place one piece of fabric on top of parchment paper.
  • Dip paintbrush into melted wax mixture and spread on fabric, covering fabric completely
    A disposable paintbrush brushing melted wax onto fabric.
  • Place baking sheet with fabric into a preheated 300 degree oven for 1 minute
  • Remove from oven and brush back over fabric with brush to help smooth out any extra wax
  • Lift fabric from baking sheet and hang from clothesline until cool
    Beeswax Wraps hanging from a line.
  • Repeat with remaining fabric. If beeswax mixture begins to thicken, place back on stove

Notes

  • Recipe can be doubled, but keep proportions the same
  • Wash your fabric before using. Don't worry if the fabric is wrinkled. The wrinkles will disappear when you add the wax.
  • If fabric is too large for baking sheet, spread wax on half of the fabric. Fold fabric in an "S" shape in the center and cover other half with wax. Floral fabric covered with beeswax on a baking sheet.
  • Make beeswax cloths any size that fits your needs. I made mine in 10 squares and 8 inch squares.
  • To easily cut a square, fold material in a triangle and cut unfolded sides Patterned material cut with pinking shears.
  • Use pinking shears when cutting the fabric so the edges don't fray
  • Use old equipment for making these wraps. Once they are covered with beeswax, it's difficult to remove wax. I dedicate a set to just this task and nothing else.
  • Use a digital scale to measure ingredients
  • Use a small stirrer when stirring the wax. I use the handle of a wooden spoon. A chopstick would also work well
  • Don't try to stir the mixture until most of the contents are melted
  • Melt time will vary depending on your stove and the size of your beeswax. I use large chunks and it takes about 40 minutes to melt the entire mixture. If you buy small pellets of beeswax, your melt time may be less.
  • Use caution with the melted wax mixture. It is hot and will burn and stick when contact is made.
  • If the wrap begins to stick to the parchment paper, just pop back into the oven for another minute.