How to Make Beeswax Wraps at Home With an Iron

Pick 100% cotton fabric for your beeswax wraps. Scraps are perfect. Lay the fabric flat and use a ruler or measuring tape with an erasable marker to mark out each square. Janelle made a small 15 cm square, a medium 25 cm and a large 30 cm. Cut along the lines with sharp fabric scissors. Straight edges are fine, since you can trim them later.

Grate your beeswax on the large holes of a box grater over a cutting board. Small shavings melt fast and spread evenly, which is what you want. You do not need a lot. A small handful covers a medium square. Use an old grater if you can, because beeswax is hard to clean off. Some kits come with pellets ready to go.

Cover your ironing board with an old towel. Wax can soak through, so do not use a good one. Tear off a sheet of baking paper a little bigger than your fabric and lay it on the towel. Place one cotton square on top and smooth it flat with your hands. This sandwich keeps wax off your board and your iron.

Scatter the grated beeswax across the fabric. Spread it out so there are no big gaps, and go right to the edges and corners. Less is more here. You can always add a pinch later, but too much wax makes a stiff, cracked wrap. A light, even scattering is the goal.

Lay a second sheet of baking paper over the wax and fabric. Set the iron to its hottest setting with no steam. Move it slowly over the paper. You will see the wax melt into pools through the paper and spread as you go. Keep ironing until the whole square looks evenly darkened and wet with wax.

Peel off the top paper and lift the warm wrap off the bottom sheet. Hold it up for a few seconds so the wax starts to set, then lay it over a drying rack or clothes line. It feels firm and dry to the touch in about five minutes. Repeat the paper, wax and iron steps for each fabric square.

Check each wrap for pale, dry patches where the wax missed. You can lift the top paper to peek while you iron. If you find one, sprinkle a few more pellets on the bare spot, cover it again and iron until the wax spreads across. Keep going until the whole wrap has an even color.

Once the wraps are cool, trim the edges. Janelle used pinking shears to give each wrap a zigzag edge. It takes a couple of minutes, cleans up any uneven cuts and stops the fabric from fraying. Regular scissors are fine too if you do not have pinking shears. Snip off any loose threads while you are at it.

Your wraps are ready. To use one, lay it over a jar or bowl and press around the edges with your hands. The warmth softens the wax so it molds and sticks to itself and the container. Wrap cheese, half a lemon or a sandwich the same way. Wash in cool water and let dry before you fold it away.