Wax on....

When one is sewing there is a material that is used often but not thought about so much in modern sewing. I use it more when I am sewing with linen, pure cotton or wool thread. You don’t really need it when you are working with polyester and other acrylic fibers but when working with natural fibers it helps to keep the natural fibers together and prevents breakage while you are sewing. It is a material found in nature, can hold its chemical makeup for years and is edible.

The answer… beeswax. About 6 to 8 pounds of honey is needed to produce one pound of wax and the average bee collects less than a gram in its lifetime. It will visit between 50-100 flowers a day flying around 15 miles and the honey it produces is the only thing that we eat from insects. (Other than insects themselves.) Beeswax is water proof and isn’t just good in sewing. It can be eaten, used to seal food, clothing and just about anything else you want to make a bit more water tight. It is used to help with allergies and can be reheated and reused over and over again because it never goes bad or breaks down. It does have a melting point but even on a very hot day it won’t melt too much.

So here’s to the bees, there honey and their wax. Here’s to a cup of tea with honey and a sewing project with linen thread covered in wax.