I’ve wanted to make beeswax wraps for a long time, but like so many DIY projects, it always got pushed to the back burner. Yesterday, with the roads covered in ice and no real reason to leave the house, I finally decided nows the time.
I had read a few tutorials, but they were vague at best. The general idea was to lay cotton fabric on parchment paper, sprinkle it with beeswax, and let it melt in the oven. Another method involved melting the beeswax beforehand and painting it onto the fabric before hanging it to dry.
A friend who had done this before warned me, you’Ll need more beeswax than you think. That advice stuck with me, so I figured error on the side of more is better. I wanted to try the painting method, but I didn’t have a brush, so I went with the oven method.
I set it to 375F, grabbed two 10x10 fabric squares, and generously (too generously) sprinkled on the wax. Set the timer for five minutes.
Y’all.
I had at least four times the amount of wax I actually needed.
When I pulled the wraps out, they were thick, stiff, and so overloaded with wax that they wouldn’t even flex properly. Trying to hang them to dry was a whole other disaster, wax dripped everywhere. At one point, I wasn’t sure if I was making wraps or creating an extremely flammable situation in my kitchen. But hey, the house is still standing, so we will call that a small victory.
Needless to say, these wraps are not usable. But in the spirit of sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly, here’s what I learned:
1. Less is more. Beeswax spreads a lot when it melts. Start with less than you think you need, you can always add more.
2. A lower oven temp is probably smarter. 375°F might have been a little aggressive. Next time, I’ll try something closer to 200°F.
3. Have the right tools. A brush or even an old credit card to spread the wax would have been helpful.
4. Trial and error is part of the process. I’ll give this another shot (eventually), and when I do, I’ll know better.
For now, I’m counting this as a learning experience. If you’ve made beeswax wraps before and have any tips, I’m all ears. Otherwise, stay tuned for round two, hopefully with less wax and fewer fire hazards.
