How to make beeswax wraps - oven method

The beauty of making your own beeswax wraps with our wax blend blocks, is that there is no measuring,  pre-melting and mixing of ingredients needed, so no math, and no aftermath of scrubbing pots and pans!  

With a block of Dee's Bees Food Wrap Blend and your oven, the only cleanup you'll have at the end is to throw away a couple of pieces of baking paper - or keep them for re-use if you plan to make more wraps in future. 

 You need:

  • 1 Dee’s Bees Food Wrap Blend Block
  • Cotton fabric of your choice, light-medium weight. (Synthetic blends do not take up the wax well)
  • Vegetable peeler or cheese grater (the peeler is safer and easier to clean)
  • Baking paper (any old baking paper from the supermarket)
  • Oven
  • A dish or baking tray with a lip.

Ready?  Good.  

Let's do this! 

Here's the video version, or just scroll down for the step by step print version.

 

 

  1.  If your fabric is new, run it through your washing machine to remove dressing, and dry thoroughly.

  2. Cut your fabric to your preferred size and shape... check out our size guide for ideas on useful dimensions.   Use pinking shears if you have them:  the zig-zag edge helps to prevent fraying, but this isn’t essential as the wax blend will hold the fabric edge quite well on its own.

  3. Turn on your oven and heat to 80 - 100 degrees celsius (175 - 210 degrees fahrenheit).   Beeswax melts at 62 C (144 F), so don't be tempted to turn your oven up higher - it really isn't necessary.

  4. Lay a sheet of baking paper on baking tray and your fabric on top.  Make sure you have a couple of inches of baking paper outside the edge of the fabric so there is no run-off.  You can loosely fold fabrics into the dish if they are too big to lay flat. 

  5. Use the vege peeler, grater, or small knife  to shave the Wrap Block onto the fabric. You won't need a lot, and it's easy to add more if needed, so don't get too carried away. 

  6. Put your tray into the oven, and wait a few minutes.  Within 3-5 minutes the wax blend will have melted and dispersed through the fabric.   

  7. Remove tray from the oven and check your progress - you will probably be able to lift the fabric with your fingertips as the wax cools quickly once it's out of the oven.   It's easy to see where not enough wax has been used.

  8. Rearrange the fabric as needed, add a few more wax shavings to areas that need a top-up, and return to the oven for a few more minutes. 

  9. When you're happy that you've got the fabric fully covered, remove from the oven and lift your wrap off the tray immediately to cool. 

  10. Don't worry if your wrap sticks to the paper - you've just let it get a bit too cool before removing it, so return to the oven to warm up again, and lift while still warm.

  11. Think you've used too much wax? Easy - just add another piece of fabric, and return to the oven - the new fabric will take up the extra wax, and become your next wrap. 

  12. The wax will cool almost instantly when you pick up the wrap, so I just wave it about for a couple of seconds, and then lay it aside and carry on with the next one, but you can choose to hang on a clothes rack to set if you wish.    You can carry on using the same baking paper many times, and leftover wax from the previous wrap will just be taken up by the next piece of fabric.

     

Easy, huh?  

Apple wrapped with Beeswax wraps