Make your own beeswax wraps: materials needed to make beeswax wraps.

How to make beeswax wraps: step-by-step instructions

Aluminium foil and cling film are often used in the kitchen to keep food fresh. They can be used for keeping leftovers in the fridge fresh or for packing some sandwiches for a day out. People tend to use it once and then throw it away. Today, more and more people are looking for environmentally friendly alternatives. A good alternative is a wax wrap, which you can easily make yourself. Below you will find step-by-step instructions on how to make beeswax wraps with just a few basic materials.

Beeswax food wraps: beeswax wraps for bowls and as beeswax sandwich wraps.

How to make your own beeswax wraps: materials & preparation
Making beeswax wraps in the oven
Making beeswax wraps with an iron
How to make vegan wax wraps
How to use beeswax wraps
Shelf life of DIY beeswax wraps
How to clean DIY beeswax wraps

Make your own wax wraps: materials you will need to make beeswax wraps.

DIY beeswax wraps: materials & preparation

You will only need a few things to make your own beeswax wraps:

Some spare pieces of fabric
(Fabric) scissors or pinking scissors

Organic beeswax
Coconut oil if needed
A baking tray, greaseproof paper and an oven
An iron and ironing board if needed

DIY beeswax wraps: preparation

It's best to use spare pieces of fabric made from organic cotton or organic linen for your beeswax wraps. Ideally, your fabrics should not be dyed. If they are dyed, then make sure they have been washed several times. The fabric you are going to use should not be too thick so that your beeswax wraps stay pliable.

1. Cut out the fabric

Cut your fabric to the size you want them, such as 30x30cm for large bowls or 25x25cm for sandwich bags. The beeswax will later smoothen out around the edges, so you don't have to trim them. Try to use pinking scissors to prevent your wrap from fraying.

2. Prepare the beeswax

Grate the beeswax into smaller pieces. You can also use special beeswax pastilles, which you can buy from your local beekeeper. When buying beeswax make sure that it is safe to consume. This is important so that no harmful substances contaminate your food.

A lot of instructions on making beeswax wraps recommend oiling your fabric beforehand so that the homemade beeswax wrap becomes smooth. You can use coconut oil, but don’t use any oils, which are air or light-sensitive such as linseed oil or cold-pressed olive oil as they can quickly become rancid. You can also make them without using any oil.

Instructions on beeswax wraps: pieces of fabric with beeswax on a baking tray.

How to make beeswax wraps in the oven

Using an oven is the easiest way to make beeswax wraps:

Put your fabric cut-outs on some greaseproof paper on the baking tray.
Spread the wax pastilles or pieces of beeswax evenly over the pieces of fabric. For medium-sized wraps, we recommend using about 15 to 20 grams of wax per wrap.

You don’t need to preheat the oven. Put the baking tray into the oven and set thetemperature to approx. 70 to 80 °C.
Wait until the wax pastilles have melted. This will take around 5 to 10 minutes.
Let the beeswax wraps dry on the baking tray. Use a washing line to hang them up if you want to make several wraps at once. Be careful when the wraps come out of the oven as they will still be hot.

If the wax didn’t spread evenly whilst baking, then iron the wrap carefully on the lowest setting by placing it between two pieces of greaseproof paper.

How to make beeswax wraps in the oven with an iron

You can also make beeswax wraps using an iron. Start by placing your pieces of fabric on greaseproof paper and then spread the beeswax pastilles over them:

Now put the second piece of greaseproof paper over the fabric with the pieces of beeswax.
Set the iron to a medium temperature and gently iron over the wrap until the wax has melted.
Check that the wrap is evenly covered all the way to the edges and then leave the wrap to cool.
Excess beeswax can end up sticking to the edges of the wraps whilst using an iron. Once it has cooled, you will need to remove the excess beeswax from the edges.

If you choose to make wraps using an iron, you can make several wraps at once. To do this, put another layer of fabric over the fabric with the wax pastilles, but you will also need a little more beeswax to soak both wraps.

This is a great activity to get your children involved in. However, an adult should be in charge of the ironing and baking. Children can spread the wax pastilles over your fabric cut-outs and they can also hang up any cooled wraps to dry. Older children could even help to cut out the fabric.

How to make vegan wax wraps

If you want to make vegan wax wraps you can use the following beeswax alternatives:

soy wax
rapeseed wax
carnauba wax

To make a vegan wax wrap, you can follow the exact same steps as for the beeswax wraps. Coconut oil will make your vegan wax wraps particularly soft and pliable.

Tip: Vegan wraps may not last as long and you may need to use a rubber band to hold them in place.

How to use beeswax wraps

You can use your homemade beeswax wraps to cover food, bowls and tins. Your body heat will make the beeswax wrap becomes pliable and a little sticky. This means, if you want your beeswax wrap to stick to the edges of a bowl, simply press it down with your hands for a little while to warm it up.

You can cover fruit, vegetables, bread or leftovers with your beeswax wrap. Do not wrap any raw fish or meat in the wrap, as it cannot be washed to kill any bacteria. Beeswax does contain antibacterial elements, but this is not strong enough to kill off any bacteria.

Fatty foods such as sausages, cheese or cakes can cause the wax to dissolve, which will make the food stick to them.

DIY beeswax wraps: using a homemade beeswax wrap as a beeswax bread bag.

Shelf life of DIY beeswax wrap

You can use a beeswax wrap for about two to three years. However, this depends on how well you look after them. Keep your wax wraps fresh by ironing them or putting them in the oven from time to time. You might need to use a few more beeswax pastilles.

If you notice that your beeswax wraps smell like expired food or if they have mouldy patches, then you should throw them away.

By cutting discarded beeswax wraps into small strips, you can use them to light barbecues or a fire. Natural materials such as organic cotton and organic linen are good for wraps as they are compostable. If you do not have your own compost bin, then beeswax wraps should be disposed of in the residual waste.

How to clean and take care of your DIY beeswax wraps

Don’t expose your beeswax wraps to heat or clean them with detergents that contain alcohol, as this will dissolve the wax. Also, don’t put your wraps in the dishwasher or washing machine.

Instead, rinse your homemade beeswax wraps with cold or lukewarm water and use a mild dish soap. For stubborn stains gently rub them with a sponge but be careful not to remove the wax. If you want to disinfect your beeswax wraps, you can use vinegar. You can also put them in the oven to freshen them up.

You can hang them up on the washing line to dry or put them on a dish drainer. Do not put the beeswax wraps on a heater or in the sun to dry.

Conclusion: DIY beeswax wraps are an environmentally friendly alternative

Beeswax wraps are versatile and will last for a long time if you take care of them properly. They are also a more environmentally friendly alternative to using aluminium foil or cling film. It’s great for DIY project for beginners and children, as you don't need a sewing machine to make them.

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