Homemade Beeswax Food Wraps

The versatility. The scent. The fun prints. What’s not to love about beeswax food wraps? We didn’t even mention the low waste magic of being able to reuse them, again and again, for sealing up our leftovers and keeping cheese fresh in the fridge. So today we have an easy beeswax wraps DIY for you crafty folks!

While we do offer pre-made beeswax wraps for those of you who are eager to put them to use, we also love to try our hands at DIY low waste projects, which is why we were so excited to find this spot-on recipe from our Oregon neighbors at Mountain Rose Herbs. With gratitude for their trial-and-error mastery of this recipe, we are thrilled to share it with you:

Reusable Beeswax Wraps DIY

This recipe makes 2-3 wraps using roughly 12”x12” cloths (or similar). 

Ingredients:

• 100% cotton fabric
• 0.35 oz. sustainably sourced pine resin 
• 1.25 oz. beeswax pastilles
• 1 Tbsp. organic jojoba oil
• Popsicle stick 
• Parchment paper
• Dedicated paint brush

Directions:

1. Wash and dry fabric.
2. Cut fabric into desired shapes and sizes.
3. Place pine resin, beeswax, and jojoba oil in a double boiler or glass measuring cup and set in a saucepan.
4. Add water to saucepan until the mixture inside the double boiler or measuring cup is below waterline. Turn burn to medium-high heat.
5. Preheat oven to 300° F.
6. Allow ingredients to melt and meld together, about 20 to 25 minutes. 
7. Cover large cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment paper larger than your biggest piece of fabric. 
8. Spread a fabric piece (or pieces, depending on size) flat on parchment paper. 
9. Brush mixture lightly onto fabric. It might solidify, which is fine, as you'll be able to redistribute later. It’s easy to oversaturate, so remember that it’s easier to add more than take the excess away.  
10. Put cookie sheet in oven for 2 minutes, or until fabric looks wet. 
11. Remove from oven and look for any dry spots. Brush mixture over these uncovered areas, applying more coating as needed. If you notice unevenness after adding more, you can place it back in the oven for a few minutes to smooth. 
12. Place the next wrap(s) you are going to make on top of the finished fabric to soak up any excess coating mixture. Work quickly, as you don’t want the wax to begin to solidify. 
13. Once you’ve pressed any excess onto the new cloth, peel apart and hang your completed wrap(s) to dry. Drying only takes a few minutes. 
14. Repeat steps with additional pieces of fabric until you are out of coating mixture.  

We love the idea of using thrifted fabric or sewing scraps you may have on hand to make this beeswax wraps DIY recipe happen! Thank you, Mountain Rose Herbs, for crafting this beautiful recipe. Let us know if you try this and what tweaks you might make next time. If you take a pic, be sure to share and tag us on Instagram so we can see your handiwork!