My friend Kate* contacted me the other day to ask whether I’d ever tried making my own waxed cloth wraps for keeping food fresh. It’s one of those things that I’ve seen instructions for** but have never got round to trying: another thing on ‘the list’. Initially I thought that she was going to ask me how to do it, but it turned out that she was actually offering to make some for me – what a treasure!
And last week these arrived:
waxed cotton wraps
They are made using beeswax and cotton fabric. I haven’t needed to use any of them yet, but I can see that, combined with some string or an elastic band or two, they are going to be really useful and a brilliant alternative to plastic bags and boxes… both at home and when going shopping. I suspect some of them might go on picnics with us too. I may even add loops and buttons, so that they have an integral secure way to close them.
-oOo-
* One of many: I know an awful lot of Kates, Katies, Kts and Katys – this particular one is local
** There are several approaches, differing only in the details of how to melt/apply the wax, for example here and here
The Snail of Happiness 
coppicelearner
/ January 9, 2018Oh dear! Another thing to add to ‘the list’! They do look good and I take a packed lunch every time I go to the Welsh class so they would get used. I have plenty of cotton and some beeswax so I shall have to try to get them to the ‘do next’ spot!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2018I have some sandwich wrappers that are cotton with a plastic lining that have a velcro closure – I’ve had them for about 10 years I think. They are much admired, but they do include plastic, so these with the beeswax seem like a better option if making anew. Kate says they are quick to make and that the time-consuming thing was cutting out the fabric.
LikeLiked by 1 person
katechiconi
/ January 9, 2018I don’t keep cling wrap in the house, preferring to put something in a container with a lid rather than put a sheet of single-use plastic over it. I do, I confess, using baking paper for separating the food from plastic containers, but I recycle that. But I do think these cloths sound like a good idea. I wonder if you couldn’t just rub the fabric with a block of solid beeswax and get a finish rather like a Barbour jacket?
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2018Like you I haven’t bought cling film for years – I think these are going to be useful and I hadn’t previously thought about them for lining plastic containers. I suspect that heating the wax in some way just means the wax penetrates right through and probably stops you missing a spot when applying it as it spreads out.
I now have to ‘test drive’ them to see how well they actually work.
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ January 9, 2018I’ll be interested to hear the results. Myself, I’d be unable to resist making them colour coded: yellow for dairy, green for vegies, red for meat, blue for poultry, multicolour for leftovers, etc!
LikeLike
tinaor
/ January 9, 2018A nice gift from a friend. Always good to hear of crafty gifting!
LikeLike
tialys
/ January 9, 2018Would there be any reason you couldn’t use soy wax? Just asking as I have lots of pellets left over from making candles as Christmas gifts.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2018I have no idea, but I don’t see why not. Would it melt with an iron?
LikeLike
tialys
/ January 9, 2018I might well experiment and let you know.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2018Please do – it’s always good to use what’s to hand and know what works.
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ January 9, 2018Eek! Be careful, as soy wax contains a small percentage of paraffin wax, which is toxic, otherwise it’s not firm enough to burn. I don’t think it’s a good idea to use it next to food.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2018well, that’s a no then!
LikeLiked by 1 person
tialys
/ January 18, 2018Finally got an answer to the supplier of my soy wax pellets who are in the U.K. – I told them what I was thinking of using it for and this is their reply –
‘To confirm, the container blend pellets are completely soy wax and do not contain any paraffin ‘.
So, I guess there is soy wax and soy wax. Anyway, might give it a try if I get round to it.
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ January 18, 2018OK, sounds as if it should be safe. The way I was taught about candle making said that a small amount of paraffin in the blend was needed for two reasons: first, to make the wax set more firmly so you could make a pillar candle, and secondly because paraffin in the blend would carry scent far better than soy alone. But if you have a pure soy wax rather than a blend it should be fine.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 18, 2018that’s great to know – I hope it works
LikeLike
Laurie Graves
/ January 9, 2018Neat! Keep us posted as to how they work.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2018I will… actually I have a few updates I need to get round to… just need to find the time!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Laurie Graves
/ January 9, 2018I know the feeling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
nanacathy2
/ January 9, 2018I have learned something new today, never heard of them. I usually use greaseproof paper but I have no idea what’s in that. Can you wash them or are they single use I wonder?
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2018They are washable in gentle detergent and as long as the water isn’t too hot (otherwise the wax melts).
LikeLiked by 1 person
eloquentparadise
/ January 9, 2018This is great and looks very useful!
LikeLike
Murtagh's Meadow
/ January 9, 2018What a great idea!
LikeLike
Patricia Collins
/ January 9, 2018Lucky you! Making these has been on my list for a while now. I even have the ingredients, but haven’t plucked up the courage to make a start. I found a website that sells them and also hase some great ideas about folding them origami- wise to make boxes, wraps and the like. Will look it out.
LikeLike
yarnandpencil
/ January 9, 2018My great aunt put food into a bowl and sat a plate atop of it before fridging it.
I will try this wax idea too ❤ thanks for posting about it 🙂
LikeLike
yarnandpencil
/ January 9, 2018Reblogged this on yarn and pencil and commented:
I think I shall try this. What did you think?
LikeLike
peppergrass
/ January 9, 2018These have been on my list for at least a year and I still haven’t managed to attempt them. I even have locally sourced beeswax, so no excuse there. I think I’m worried about making an absolute mess when making them, and then dreading the cleaning up. But maybe it’s not as messy as I’m imagining? Good on you!
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 10, 2018Kate seemed to think they were really straightforward to make… I suspect that you won’t make too much mess.
LikeLiked by 1 person
anne54
/ January 9, 2018What a special friend (my feeling is that all Kates are generous and thoughtful.) I was given a set of different sizes for Christmas, and have already found them useful for covering dishes in the fridge. You use the warmth of your hand to gently fold the ‘paper’ over the edge of the dish. They can be wiped clean if they are not too dirty. I would love to hear about your attachments ~ when you have time, of course!
LikeLike
TammieLP
/ January 10, 2018Ooh, I saw something like this recently and thought it was a great idea…until I looked at the price. Glad to see they aren’t too tough to make. This will finally give me something else to do with my bees’ wax other than making lip balm!
LikeLike
quietwatercraft
/ January 11, 2018I’ve not heard of these before, but they look brilliant! It would be like unwrapping a present every time I ate my sandwiches at work 😀
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ January 11, 2018What a lovely thought.
LikeLike
Tracy @ It's a T-Sweets Day!
/ January 16, 2018It’s not often I see something entirely new and intriguing to me. You have done it! I have some bees wax here at home and am going to have to give this a try! Thank you for sharing the idea:)😊❤️
LikeLike