Do away with all that plastic cling film and make something that really works
I created this project two years ago for 91magazine blog . Today seeing that Emma Bridgewater is now selling bees wax covers I thought it was time to republish this. If you haven’t got the time or space to make your own, Emma Bridgewater’s look very nice. This project is very easy to do, it smells delicious and it works. I had been reading about food wrap for a while and was curious, when happenstance made me do something about it. My neighbour, who keeps bees in my garden, presented me with a large piece of beeswax. I knew just how I could use it. I read lots of posts on line about different methods and possible additives to create the cloth, but in the end decided to do the simplest thing, just use the bee’s wax unadulterated on the cloth. Please note if you choose a white or pale background fabric and use bee’s wax, the yellow colour will come through into the design. Personally I like this as a look as it gives it a home spun feel.
You will need
Closely woven cotton fabric, similar to a bed sheet in feel. We got ours from Cloth and Candy
https://www.clothandcandy.co.uk/
Wax – either grated,from a large block as this has been, or you can buy wax pellets on line.
Baking parchment to line a flat baking tray
Pinking shears
Flat decorators paint brush
Tape measure
Paper scissors
Step 1
Measure then draw an extra 2cms round each side of the vessel you wish to cover. Using pinking shears cut out the fabric. By using pinking shears you will not need to hem the fabric.
Step 2
Cut out a piece of baking parchment to fit inside the baking tray. Place the fabric on top of the baking parchment and sprinkle the bee’s wax evenly on the fabric.
Step 3
Place in a low temperature oven, 100 degrees C, and watch the fabric through the oven door until the wax melts into the cloth, this should be between five and ten minutes. Remove the fabric and using a paintbrush spread the wax to cover any parts of the fabric where the wax may not have penetrated.
Step 4
Hang the fabric up to dry. Once the cloth is dry it will still feel slightly sticky and waxy but that is the nature of the beast. I made cloths for specific containers that I had, but you can make large waxed pieces of cloth and use them for wrapping items such as loaves of bread, or pieces of fruit.
creativecolour.org 