While I work though all my anxiety about my Lengberg bra post that still isn’t up, I do want to get back in the swing of posting. So I figure, why not do the easiest, most essential thing to give your table/camp that extra pop of period wonder?

“What is this easy and magical thing?” you might scoff.

Listen.

Waxed linen covers.

No, for real. Look at this sexy guy.

They are crazy easy, we’re found everywhere and really add that extra ambiance while legitimately protecting your food and drink.

 

We have a lot of data for waxed linen covers. They were writing about them in ancient

Greece, we have contemporary illustrations from the 14th century showing what looks like linen covers like this one and of course there are remnants of extant ones in graves and dwellings across cultures and periods.

 

 

So, how do we make them? Let’s talk about what you need first. It’s not much.

• linen, medium- heavy weight (preferably unbleached and enough for however many covers you want)
• Scissors, ruler, chalk/marker
• Tongs (you don’t have to have them, but you’ll be glad you did)
• beeswax
• rice cooker or pot
• Line or mesh rack to dry the linen on

Be advised that what ever you melt the beeswax in will probably become just a craft tool because it becomes nearly impossible to get all the wax out. So, make sure whatever it is is expendable. I use an old rice cooker but you can get a pot super cheap at a thrift store.

You also want to do this outside if you can or put paper down.  There will be drips and they are hard to remove.

I said preferably unbleached linen, but you will see for this that I use linen SO white its almost blue.  Really, use what you have. The beeswax will, especially over time, bring it to a more natural color, unbleached is just more correct for period, but use whatever color you want.

Ok, so, to the crafting!

Disclaimer: I know some people think that I explain unnecessary steps, but I want anyone who comes across these tutorials to be able to make these things, regardless of skill, prior knowledge or help. Please, if you already know how to do a step, skip it and move on to the next.

For this, we are going to cut out 6″x6″ squares.  If you want to cover a bowl or pitcher with a wider mouth measure at least 3″ larger than the diameter of the opening to make a well fitting linen cover. However, 6″x6″ fits most mugs and small vessels so its a good size if you don’t know quite what you’ll be covering.

We’ll start with melting the wax.  I use beeswax pearls because they melt faster, but really, any kind of beeswax is just fine.  A common question comes up a lot and yes, it needs to be beeswax.  It has a higher melting temperature so it wont drip into your food/drink, smells lovely, is the period choice, is better at creating a seal and most importantly is food safe. 

Grab your pot or rice cooker and put in enough wax to fill it at least one inch from the bottom.  For my little rice cooker that took approximately half a pound. If you are using a rice cooker, lip it down to on.  If you are using a pot on the stove, turn it to about medium (beeswax can burn and it’s gross).

Now you can work on the fabric while the wax is want to make sure your fabric has at least one right angle to start from so that all of your squares are equal.

Measure up from the bottom 6″ and draw a straight line across the fabric.

Mark 6″ along the top and bottom line and then connect them.

Cut the linen out along the lines.  If you cut out one from the selvage edge (The edge with loose threads) go ahead and cut those off before you wax.  It’ll be much harder afterward and leaving them just encourages dirt.

Now, your wax should be about melted (it may take longer if you have a block, no worries, yours will probably come out better and smell divine.

Grab the edge of the linen with the tongs and lower it into the wax.  Move it around until you are sure the wax has permeated the linen everywhere.  You may have to release the tongs and pick the linen back up to make sure the wax gets everywhere.

Pick the linen back up and gently shake it over the pot until it stops dripping Then hang it or lay it on the drying rack (I’m using a fire pit cover. It works exceptionally well and our fires smell like honey, win-win).

Continue this until all your pieces are waxed and drying.

Now, you may be done. If your linen appears saturated without a bunch of excess, you are good to go. If they do seem like they have an excess of wax on them, you can just melt it off.  The best way to do it is to hang them with clothes pins and hit them with a heat gun but you can also use a hair dryer or other method, it will just take a little longer.

Once they are done and dry you can fit them to whatever vessel you are planning on using it for.  If you need it to be air tight (for flour, sugar, etc) I highly recommend using twine to tie it down. However, this is not necessary if you are just waning to keep stuff out.

Wax covers can be reused and reshaped to fit any vessel, but be advised, if you are going for air tight, you need to melt the wax and flatten it completely before you reshape it. This makes sure you have a good seal.

And there you have it.  A super easy, minimal cost way to give your gear that extra period oomph while also protecting your food and drink.  As always, if you have any questions or want to show off what you did, please feel free to hit me up.