I’ll admit, I had serious doubts whether these DIY Bees Wax Wraps I’d seen splashed all over Pinterest were legit. But part of my pledge for Plastic Free July was give up the glad wrap variety so I thought I’d give them a whirl.
And they worked! They really do have lovely sticky power – and though they’re not water tight (neither is cling film) I’ve found these great for covering leftovers and wrapping biscuits and fruit. I’ve used them for a few weeks now and they’re still going strong! I was inspired to make these during Plastic Free July – I was looking at ways to further reduce single use plastic, and cling film is such an easy thing to do without – especially when there is a pretty alternative like this!
Note that these aren’t designed to wrap anything meaty or cheesy, and you should wash after each use. Cold soapy water is best.
And happily, there’s only a few ingredients needed and an hour of your time. The below recipe makes about 12 20 x 20cm sheets.
Here’s what you need:
- 100 grams of bees wax
- 3 tablespoons of jojoba oil
- 12 20 x 20cm squares of cotton fabric
- 20 grams of pine rosin
- Paint brush
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Saucepan
- 2 cups of hot water
- Pyrex jug
I bought the ingredients online at Pure Nature but they are widely available online if shipping from NZ isn’t an option 😉
1.First, prepare your pine rosin – this is what give the sheets the sticky power. If it’s not already crushed, place it in between a sheet of baking paper and good a give whack with a hammer until it turns to powder.
2. Combine your bees wax, powdered pine rosin and jojoba oil in a pyrex jug.
3.Fill your saucepan quarter full with water. Place your jug in the saucepan and gently boil on a low heat until it’s melted. This should take about 15 minutes. It goes without saying, but I will anyway – don’t be an egg and leave it unattended. And never melt wax directly over a heat source, always use a water bath.
There were some globs of what I presume was jojoba oil which wouldn’t melt or combine. Don’t worry about this!
4. Lay down a towl or placemat on your surface, and place saucepan where you have easy reach. Lay down your baking tray with a sheet of parchment, and lay your fabric squares on top.
Hint: trimming the edges of the fabric with pinking shears will stop the material from fraying!
5. Use the brush to apply the melted mixture to the fabric. Aim for a thin coat, and don’t worry too much if it’s not even, because the next step will fix that!
6. Put your sheet in an oven preheated to 100 degrees on fan bake. Pop it in for 5 minutes or so.
7. When the mixture looks evenly distributed, remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. Peel your sheet off and wave around until it dries.
8. And they are ready to use! No go forth and wrap all the things in Bees Wax Wraps.