How to make a Beeswax Wrap

A word on the process: There are many inventive techniques for making beeswax food wraps, most of which can be done at home with excellent results. Part of the fun lies in experimenting and finding your preferred method. Just make sure you gather everything you need ahead of time, and protect surfaces, clothing, and most importantly, your hands to prevent burns.

Pre-cut your material (to save time on this step, check out our DIY Food Wrap Kit! - shop here). Cotton batik works best - the thinner and lighter the material the better, as long as it is tightly woven.  A 12x12 inch square works well for sandwiches and cheeses, and an 8x8 inch square is ideal for covering smaller bowls.

Carefully melt your Ames Farm beeswax wrap diy bar. We suggest using an electric stir-fry skillet, but any double-boiler setup will work as well. Heat gradually until the bar begins to melt, and maintain the lowest possible heat that keeps the mixture liquid.

Fully saturate one cloth at a time in the mixture. A pair of kitchen tongs can be sacrificed for this process. Alternatively, one side of the cloth can be dipped and let cool, then held as the other side is submerged. When removing the cloth, hold it for a moment over the skillet to let as much wax drip off as possible.

Lay the fabric flat on a hot plate or a baking tray, and re-heat it using a heat gun, hair dryer, or repurposed clothes iron. While heating, use a paper towel or a metal straightedge to remove as much of the excess wax as you can. This step is important to help the wax and resin bond completely with the fabric, and to remove extra wax to keep the wrap pliable. Any wax mixture you can reclaim at this stage will make more wraps!

Carefully place finished food wrap on a drying rack, or hang it to dry over a wire coat hanger, and you’re done! It may help to hold the wrap in the air and wave it gently back and forth a few times to help the drying process and to avoid imprints from the drying rack.