*Updated on 01/11/17
A few months ago, when I was absentmindedly scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a surprisingly interesting ad. It was from a company who had designed a sustainable alternative to plastic food wrap. I was intrigued how melting beeswax and other substances onto a sheet of cotton would create an equivalent to Clingfilm.
I was tempted to buy some of the wrap and try it out for myself, but after seeing how much it cost per sheet, I reconsidered how to get hold of it without spending as much money.
As someone who watches Youtube tutorials for everything (including ‘how to write a blog’) I thought I’d take my search there. There were thousands of results, so I watched a tutorial video of how to make it on your own and decided to buy the ingredients.
It was surprisingly simple to make, and even quite enjoyable, this coming from someone who is terrible at all things arts and crafts. I even remembered to take photos of the step-by-step process, which I’ve included below.
If you’re interested in making your own, this is how I did it.
1 Shopping
The only items I needed to purchase were; Beeswax beads (£4, Amazon), Cotton fabric (£7 for 5 sheets, Hobbycraft) and Pinking shears (£6, Hobbycraft). The only 2 other things I needed were an iron and parchment paper, which I already owned.
2 Cutting
I cut the cotton sheets into a variety of sizes using the pinking shears (to prevent the fabric fraying).
3 Sprinkling
I covered the ironing board in parchment paper and placed a cotton sheet on top. I then sprinkled the beeswax beads onto the cotton sheet and layered another sheet of parchment paper on top of the beads.
N.B: if buying a block of beeswax then grate it first
N.B 2.0: the parchment paper is essential, otherwise the melted wax will ruin the iron and board.
4 Ironing
Doesn’t need much explanation. I used a medium heat and moved the iron around until the beeswax was fully melted.
5 Reapplying
I added extra beads to the sections of the fabric which hadn’t been coated in the melted wax. And ironed again.
6 Drying
Hung the fabric up to dry, which only took a matter of minutes.
7 Testing
It worked! Using the heat of my hands (I rubbed them together first to warm them up) I was able to mould the wrap around the food.
I made the food wrap a few weeks ago and it’s been working brilliantly. The tin foil and Clingfilm haven’t been used since. On certain items, I do use an elastic band to help hold the wrap closed, but I don’t consider this to be an issue, just something to bear in mind.
If you’ve got a half hour to spare, then I’d highly recommend giving it a go.
**EDIT** When cleaning the wraps use cold water and soap (as using hot water will start to melt the wax).
**UPDATE** You may also need to top up the wraps with more beeswax after a few months if the wax is starting to wear off. I’ve been using mine for 3 months now and I’m going to add some more wax to the wraps I use everyday.
Emily Marshall
Read more articles like this on Emily’s blog, Emily’s Earth.
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