Ever since I started my no-disposable-plastic policy, one of the first victims was cling-film.  At first, I thought it was going to be hard to find a replacement, but it ended up being really quite easy! Even better, since I design my own cloth it allowed me to be a bit more creative with the project. But if you’re not a DIY type of person you can just buy a Bee’s Wrap.

These normally last 3-6 months, or to a year – depending on how much you use it – and once they’ve become loose and floppy you can either re-wax them or just throw them in the compost pile.

How Do You Use Them?

Wrap it over or around whatever you want to be covered and hold it in place for a few seconds. The heat from your hands will mold the cloth into the shape you want it to take, and stay there till I want to take it off. The same for loose fruits, vegetables, fresh bread and anything else you would normally keep protected in cling film. Just wrap it, hold it in place for a few seconds you’re done.

What You’ll Need To Make It: 

• Cloth (I make mine here)
• Bees Wax 
• A Stainless Steel tray
• A Cheese Grater (only needed if your beeswax comes in blocks and not pellets)
• Pinking Shears (optional)

How To Make It

You need to start off with a piece of material. I would recommend that you have a few different sizes, some small pieces, some medium sized and a few large. Avoid using a material which is very stretchy as it will deform quite quickly. Cotton, hemp or linen is your best bet.

This part is optional, but I like to go around the edges of the cloth I’m using with some pinking shears so that the edges are less likely to fray. To be fair, I’ve found that once it’s cased in beeswax the edges don’t tend to fray much anyway, but I prefer the look, and the slightly neater edges when I do it this way.

Now take your tray, place the cloth on it, and if you have beeswax pellets, sprinkle them over the cloth. If you just have blocks of beeswax then get your cheese grater and cover the cloth in shavings.

Once you’ve covered the surface of your cloth in enough beeswax, stick it in the oven till the wax has melted and spread over the cloth. When the beeswax has melted, quickly take it out of the oven and hold the cloth up by the corners so that it dries with the cloth roughly flat. I normally use a fork to lift up the edges. If you think you missed a few areas put the cloth back on the tray, grate more beeswax over the areas you missed, put it back in the oven till melted, and take it out again to cool.

What If My Cloth Is Bigger Than The Tray? 

Just fold the cloth so that it fits in the tray, and cover it in a little more beeswax than you would have had it been a single layer.

How to Clean Them

Give the wrap a quick clean with soap under cold water once it needs a wash. You can use lukewarm water to clean it if you want, but it’s better to stick to cold water. The more heat the beeswax is exposed to the faster it will lose its stiffness.

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