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Here's how to make your own beeswax wrapping

30.6.2020

Translation: machine translated

Anyone with a modicum of environmental awareness now uses beeswax 'film' to cover their leftover bolo. You don't even need to buy a replacement film, you can simply make your own.

My colleague Simon Balissat recently confessed his love of plastic film and then got lambasted by the community for his lack of respect for the environment. He then ordered beeswax fabrics, tested them and found them to be of average quality. As well as all sorts of justifications for 140 metres of plastic film, he also makes a promise in the video that forces me to act. Namely, that I'm showing you how to make these wraps yourself.

video
Product test
You asked for it, I bought myself beeswax cloths
by Simon Balissat

A promise is a promise

So there you have it, the tutorial for making your own beeswax wrapper. And one that - unlike most videos - doesn't use an iron; I don't have one. I consider ironing a useless activity and so wouldn't buy an iron. For this, I use pure beeswax, a pair of scissors (zigzag), a kitchen brush, organic coconut oil and an uncoated cotton cloth.

Zigzag cutting

To make the tutorial as sustainable as possible, I'm using an old fabric. As I have a lot of tea towels, which still look as if they came from the pre-war period, these are my textiles of choice. With the zigzag scissors, I cut out squares and circles of different sizes. You're wondering why I don't use normal scissors? Because I don't want the fabric to fray. The beeswax should seal the edges anyway, but I prefer to play it safe. Plus, I like the effect.

Next, I melt the beeswax beads. To do this, I put five tablespoons in a jar and place everything in a double boiler. Stirring regularly over a medium heat, it takes about ten minutes for the wax to become liquid. Finally, a tablespoon of coconut oil is added to make the whole thing more supple.

Running the cloth quickly

I place the cotton cloth on greaseproof paper and brush it evenly with the wax mixture. As this dries quickly, you don't want to dawdle. You don't have to be perfect here, it's hardly possible. Just make sure that all the wax is spread over the entire surface of the fabric. And only on one side. The cotton absorbs the liquid so well that it passes right through it.

To optimise the result, the fabric and greaseproof paper are placed in the oven at 80 degrees for around two to three minutes. The wax liquefies slightly again and spreads evenly over the fabric. After "cooking", shake the cloth a few times in the air, then hang it on your drying rack for a few minutes. Then it should be dry and ready for the first use on your bowls.

Contrary to Simon, I'm not looking for bad excuses not to like my coated bits of fabric. I actually quite like them. Maybe because I've never tried Jetcut film. Maybe because I hardly ever use cling film or aluminium foil. Or maybe just because they work, they're incredibly simple to make and, to my amazement, I don't even need to renovate the kitchen.

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Carolin Teufelberger

Editor

carolin.teufelberger@digitecgalaxus.ch

My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.

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