Total Fabric Noob Trying Beeswax Wraps

I'm thinking of offering beeswax wraps at the farmer's market. I found a few different sets of instructions, the simplest using pure beeswax with nothing added. I made up a sample one and I'm not sure how well I did. It seems to be unevenly coated, with shiny spots and dull spots. I tried to get it even, but I think my silicone basting brush doesn't hold enough liquid. Instructions called for a paint brush. I'm gonna drop a bunch of pictures here. I wish I could capture the unevenness better. I welcome any feed back re: how well I've done or how to improve. I know learning to measure and cut the fabric straighter would be great. What do you guys think?

I think the most important thing to start with is how well they work. Are they flexible? Are they too sticky, making them unpleasant to handle, or nice?

One way you can even out the coverage is to fold it with the spots without good coverage under the spots with good coverage, then hit it with an iron or a blow dryer on high.

The ones I've seen have mostly been a blend of beeswax, pine resin, and an oil for flexibility, enough stickiness to hold, but not leave a sticky residue. I'll see if I can find the recipe & where I found it.

Carla Burke wrote:The ones I've seen have mostly been a blend of beeswax, pine resin, and an oil for flexibility, enough stickiness to hold, but not leave a sticky residue. I'll see if I can find the recipe & where I found it.

Most of what I've seen calls for pine resin and jojoba oil. Seems coconut oil can sub for one of those ingredients. I didn't have that stuff and found someone who used just the beeswax. Maybe a good move would be to make another with the added ingredients and compare.

That sounds like the same one, including the jojoba (which was the oil I couldn't remember) I just can't remember the proportions. Yup - I think that would be a great way to go, then you can tweak it to your liking.

As for cutting the fabric straight, without loose threads, here are some thoughts.
A printed pattern might not be exactly registered to the weave of the cloth though it ought to be close. You might be able to see the weave better from the "wrong" side.
Working flat, on a table, you can get the cloth laid out straight and square. Making it easier to follow a line with scissors, or to use a straightedge and a rotary cutter (with a cutting mat below).
If you have the selvedge (factory edges of the fabric) they can be measured from to get parallel cuts.
Sometimes you can pull a thread out of the cloth, leaving a visible line to follow, perfectly in line with the weave.
If you can tear the cloth (begin with a snip where you want) it will tear in a straight line. The edge will be fuzzy, but you can trim that away easily.
If your cut edge is slightly off, you can pull away the loose threads and then trim it.

To make the edge neat you can use zigzag scissors.

Ana Chorlito wrote:To make the edge neat you can use zigzag scissors.

Some of the youtubers did that. Those are pinking shears. I just priced 'em at walmart. I can afford them, but I think I'll try to thrift 'em first.

Another photo drop, with a few comments.

1) After handling it, my hands briefly feel "tacky" or grippier. I don't think the beeswax is getting on me, unless my skin absorbs it after? Could it be snatching away a little of my skin's oil(s) until I can replace it?

2) I can't tell that there's any residue left behind on the previously covered vessel.

3) I wasn't sure this was something I'd personally find a use for, but today a use case came up. I wet the feed for my brooder chicks. Since I read that fermentation is good, I added a little yeast to my first batch. Rather than add yeast to every batch, i make a little extra each time and keep a little lump to mix into the next batch. The little gnats it attracts are an annoyance, but I haven't covered it before because I automatically think plastic, but I want it to have oxygen. (I'm afraid anaerobic conditions would make it gross. Plus, what would that do to nutrition?) I think this will solve that collection of problems.

4) After repeated flexing and crumpling, I haven' seen any cracking.

5) I'm not sure I've reached marketable quality, but I like having this available. So now I feel like I can give it a few more tries without wasting materials and time.

New wax wrap, with sunflowers

I made another. I tried a new brush (The foam brush in the picture.) and it delivered a lot more wax. In fact I used too much and had to use an iron and parchment paper about three extra times to remove a bunch of it.

Brushes. The silicone caries too little wax. Foam brush caries plenty. Haven't tried the bristled brush yet.

I got one of these craft/ sewing/ cutting mats. I found it pretty helpful to be sure I was cutting about the size I wanted. I may get one of those pizza wheel style cutters to go with it. What do people think of those?

Cutting Mat

I found some "pinking-shear-like" scissors at a goodwill store. They looked like they were designed around kid safety. Their name indicated they may be only for paper. They were cheap enough to try, but no good. Wouldn't cut, neither before nor after waxing. Oh well. Guess I'll buy pinking shears at walmart. I found some cheaper online, but barely. Doubt I'd actually save, after shipping.

Not quite pinking shears

This BB has some good information.

I love that sunflower fabric. Looks like a 1950s pattern. Talking of 1950s, the photo below shows what the top "pinking shears" would be used for. I suspect the bottom ones are for a similar edge decorating purpose. Very popular with scrapbooking.

Jojoba seems an appropriate ingredient to give the cloth a little more flexibility. Technically, jojoba is not an oil but a wax with a low melting point. Brilliant stuff and useful for many things. It has great lubricating qualities but doesn't go sticky like vegetable oils, and is useful for lubricating anything in contact with food, even skewers. But I also use it successfully on squeaky and/or stiff hinges. What I haven't tried yet, but think it will be successful, is using it as a substitute for things like almond oil in lip balms mixed with the beeswax, as it probably won't go rancid like oil does.

Hi. I make these, now and again. I find using heat in some way will settle the issue. I generally iron over them with a hot iron, but with a cloth in between. You can hang them on a string in front of, or above your wood burner, or lay on trays in the oven. It generally sorts itself out. You can wash/dip them in hot water and hang in the sun, or as any suggestions above. They'll last a very long time.

I usually have my TV on during the day for noise/company/watching, while waiting for water and tea to heat for breakfast.

But recently on the @CREATE channel I saw a sample of cloth that a lady had taken an idea from a Japanese design of circles and dots, black on a yellow background and that really caught my eye, so I watched for a while.

She was designing a coat from the material and the Bright yellow was flashy and the Japanese material design, adapted from the  original actually looked rather good, but just too bright and flashy for my tastes.

You might want to visit that @CREATE channel to learn some of the new techniques though. Especially their sewing machines just do all but talk to the operator, with some amazing designs coming from their work.

T Melville wrote: I may get one of those pizza wheel style cutters to go with it. What do people think of those?

someone who sews more than me may have more to say, but in my experience they require endless sharpening and even so aren't great for normal fabric. if you're cutting some sort of foam or something or maybe more layers, it might be different, but it's one of the things I have in my toolbox and wonder why i've carried it around the world with me- I get a lot more use out of my ancient pinking shears, for example.

Got some actual pinking shears. Now these look a lot more finished, though I could've used a touch more care in cutting.

Pinking shears make 'em look finished.

Don't look too close. Did I mention total noob?

The two I've made so far were meant to be 12"x12", though I cut imperfectly and then trimmed them later. Gonna make some more, and some will be 12"x12". Any recommendations for other sizes? Or on how many and which sizes to pack together, or price point?

Also picked up some new fabric. Mostly just based on what I liked the looks of.

New fabric for the next round.