I’m all for convenience, but after two years of making school lunches I’m realizing that I create a lot of plastic wrap trash. The other day I saw an ad for beeswax coated fabric that could be used in replacement of plastic wrap. You use the heat of your hands to seal the fabric to itself. You can reuse the fabric several times by just rinsing it in cool, soapy water.
I have an apiarist friend who keeps beeswax as a byproduct. I asked if he could spare a few ounces so I could experiment with this fabric food wrap idea. If you don’t know a beekeeper, you can easily order beeswax online.
This was a super fun crafty activity that required no sewing. Give it a try!
Homemade cloth food wrap tutorial
What you’ll need:
- Cotton fabric – I used about 1/2 yard
- Pinking shears
- 3 oz. beeswax
- parchment paper
- iron
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with Silpat or foil. Set aside.
Cut out your fabric using pinking shears so the edges don’t fray. I used a sandwich bag as a guide. You can also trace around the top of a bowl leaving a two-inch border.
If your beeswax doesn’t already come pearled or shredded, grate it using a cheese grater.
Place a piece of cut fabric on the sheet pan and sprinkle the wax all over. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until all the wax is fully melted.
Heat your iron to a low setting (I used the silk setting). When the wax is fully melted, sandwich the fabric between two pieces of parchment paper and run the iron evenly over it for about 15 seconds. I found this made the wax more evenly distributed throughout the fabric.
Check your fabric on both sides. If there are any dry spots, sprinkle a little more wax on them and try ironing again.
Set fabric aside to cool.
You can crinkle up the parchment paper to get all the wax bits off for the next piece of fabric.
Now it’s all ready to use!
Alaska Knit Nat 