What a wonderful tutorial and fun project! And it was great to read all the questions here and see your answers to them ALL. Can't wait to try this with my daughter!
Thank you for this tutorial! I had been wanting to try making my own waxed canvas, and did my first piece today. I live near a HUGE textile warehouse - where I can pick up some fabulous home dec remnants (well, remnants for some people - perfect cuts for bagmakers!) Last week I picked up a beautiful vintage-y blue designer linen with white dandelion puffs, but had been stored at some point for too long near a sunny spot. It has slight sun faded marks kind of all over (I paid about 2 bucks for 3/4 yd) BUT… I waxed it today… which added to the vintage vibe 😂 We’ll see what type of bag it becomes - maybe a 50’s vibe beach bag!
For my raincoats, shop apron and other heavy-duty clothing, I prefer using a mixture of beeswax, linseed oil, turpentine, pine tar and essential oils for scent. When I am making something like a flannel lined raincoat, I dye the canvas first, then will cut out the pieces of canvas I need. Before sewing I'll treat them with my mixture and let them dry outside in the sun, then sew them together with the flannel.
I was told that your method is very effective but more flammable.. I’d like to try both, however, and was wondering what ratio you use roughly? Thank you
@@erinmichelle6313 Any time you're using turpentine, it's very flammable when wet, but not so much when dry. Before they switched to percethelyne, dry cleaners used to clean your clothes in naphtha. Naphtha is the same thing as Ronsonol lighter fluid for zippo lighters. It's crazy flammable, but once it dried your clothes were safe. Just be careful when you're working it into the cloth. Once it dries it's fine.
Ohh! I found the info you're talking about the turpentine: "Is It Flammable When Dry? In theory, no. When turpentine is 100% dry, the flammable components have evaporated and there is no chance of it catching fire. There are two problems with this. 1. If the turpentine is not 100% dry, it will remain flammable - so you need to be very careful when disposing of rags, brushes, etc. doused in turpentine. 2. If the turpentine dries in a poorly ventilated space, there may be fumes hanging around that are still flammable."
I've tested this. I use terpentine, bees-wax, and linseed oil and it is not particular flammable. The terpentine's purpose is to thin the wax, but it's volatile and only a few impurities are left after drying, so there's hardly anything there in the end. Linseed oil is flammable because it likes to oxydize fairly quickly even without heat being applied... this is why you need to be careful with linseed oil soaked rags, don't leave them in a crumpled ball where heat can build up or they can spontaniously combust. Burning is just fast oxydization in a runaway reaction. But after you coat something you let it "dry" and the linseed oil oxidyzes fully and there's nothing left to burn. Linseed oil is like wood, the remainder in your fabric once it oxidyzes is like ash. And beeswax isn't all that flammable. When I tested lighting it, it burned quite slowly, much more slowly than untreated cotton actually, and orders of magnitude more slowly than a modern plastic breathable raincoat with government mandated fire retardent.
‼️THANK YOU ‼️ for your awesome tutorial, I plan to make some totes wit canvas, and this it will make it more attractive to people, I will keep following you ‼️
Hello. I like this video a great deal. I have a roll of cotton artists canvas will keep neutral white and I am planning to sew it into a chef knife bag and I am pretty excited about waxing it and will use your method. Just great. THANK YOU.
Cool video, I found really cheap canvas at harbor freight. I did something similar with paste wax for a tool role. Not a great smelling product but my tools stoped rusting.
Thank you for this awesome tutorial! If you wanted to stencil on the fabric would you do it before or after adding the wax? Thanks again, this was very helpful!
Yes you can. But I prefer the one without a seam down the middle. Plus the ones I found on Amazon were actually cheaper for the size. But you are correct, most hardware stores will have them
Bees wax is a natural biologic which will mold or mildew over time in an outdoor situation like for tent canvas. Paraffin wax is a hydrocarbon that is not prone to mold in such cases.
@@homemadeonourhomestead side note, if you’ve a metal retailer near you they have usually a bin of end cuts/scrap that are much less expensive than having the retailer cut finished pieces. Though a person then needs a means of cutting and finishing the steel.
Hello! I followed your tutorial last week and made some incredible waxed canvas. I’m really excited to make more. I ran into an issue, though, that I wondered if you had encountered- with my iron on high, it poured smoke off of the surface for the whole project. My family was not pleased! I kept unplugging it while I brushed and then heating it for each time I needed the iron, going quickly to lessen the smoke time. Any advice for this? You say that your iron is on high and I didn’t see smoke at all. I just have a cheap, regular iron. Thanks for any advice you can offer!
Hi Nancy. thanks for sharing. Yes waxed canvas by the yard can get so expensive which is why i just make my own. you can also wax cotton and linen fabric as well.
hi that thanks so much for your tips about waxing canvas, I know it's a late comment to your upload, but I wondered if you had used the liners in the crock pot? And If so if that works okay with this wax and paraffin method? thanks so much, I cannot wait to wax canvas.
This looks so easy and fun to do! If I decide to dye my canvas, what brand of dye should I use? I have Rit in liquid form that I've been wanting to use for a while now. Thank you for such a great video :)
RIT dye will work great!. Only suggestion is to make sure you PRE-SOAK the canvas to fully saturate with water first. This will make sure that the canvas absorbs the stain evenly. Try adding 1 TBS of salt to the water as well. This helps too.
Thank you, thank you. Excellent tutorial. In your experience, does the wax stay put in high temperatures? Here in Cali the inside of my car can be 120 degrees. Don’t want tomruin my yarn.
Hi Gloria! Glad the tutorial was helpful. You know, I've never had an issue with the wax melting once it was done. But that being said, it doesnt get quite that hot here in WA. It is recommended not to pu waxed canvas fabric in the dryer becaseu it could melt and make a mess so my thought would be that it would do the same in a hot car. If you were going to make a knittitng bag with waxed canvas, i would maybe make a little swatch of the canvas and leave it in your car on a hot day and see how it behaves. If you iron the waxed canvas on a towel and remove as much of the extra wax as possible, it may be ok. But honestly I cant advise either way since I dont have any experiance. To be safe, I'd say dont chance a beautiful kniotting project or yarn. If you do try it, let me know how it goes. Now I'm really curious.
This is a great tutorial. Thank you! Two questions: do you burnish your material after you've applied the wax? I used Otter Wax and your supposed to burnish it with your fingers or a special tool after applying the wax. Also, how long do you let it cure for before using the material?
I dont burnish it at all. I do let it sit (cure) for about 24 hours before I use it to sew with. I also use a teflon foot when I sew with waxed canvas-it really helps :)
This is absolutely brilliant! I'm adding this to my to-do list! Edit: Question - why the combination of paraffin and beeswax? Could I do this with other waxes?
Well these are the combos of waxes that I have tried that produced the best results. When I tried with more beeswax, it was a lot more sticky, difficult to work with and didn’t love the end result. When I did more parafin wax I felt like it was far too dry and didn’t manipulate like I wanted it too. So this combo seemed to work the best. I love being able to wax fabric and canvas for my own specific projects
No need to turn over and do the other side. If you apply enough wax to the one side and iron thoroughly, there should be plenty to coat the entire piece. When Im finished waxing, I do always turn it over, open the piece up, just to make sure all pieces are coated. If I missed a spot, I just touch up that little spot, iron and then im done. No need to apply wax to both sides though. If anything, you'll end up with too much wax (you'd see a white film when it dries) which would then need to be ironed off, which in turn just means your wasting wax and materials. Thanks so much for your question. Good luck!
I don’t pre-was canvas. It’s the only fabric I don’t wash before use. But once you wax it you’ll only be spot cleaning it so it has never been an issue for me. Hope this helps
Thank you so much for the excellent tut. It is very informative and helpful. I ordered everything I need from amazon, except for iron. will get that from thrift store. The cost of waxed canvas is pricey, so this will be very usefull and keep costs down. My questions are: I heard that canvas is polyester. Should I buy polyester or cotton canvas to wax? I intend on making bags. Also, do you keep your waxed canvas on tubes or do you fold the fabric and then just iron out the marks when you make your project?
Great questions. So first, I only buy 💯 percent cotton canvas to make bags-never polyester. I store the canvas I’ve waxed folded and then iron (if I want to) and then use. I would store rolled on tubes but I don’t have the space (sadly)z
Are you wanting to know the weight density of the cotton canvas? I only use 100% cotton canvas. I purchase my canvas at Joann fabrics when It goes on sale. Otherwise I always use a coupon to obtain the best price. Let me see if I can find the weight of the canvas I use.
By scratches do you mean just from carrying it? It’s meant to look like worn leather so it will get scratches and it gives it a great look. If you don’t like the scratches on it, I’d recommend just ironing that area with a hot iron. It re-melts the wax and redistributes it
Great video! Thank you for sharing. I have one question. I have a LOT of natural beeswax (my sister & BIL raise honeybees) that isn’t filtered, meaning it comes from the hive yellow/gold. Does that make a big impact? Maybe just gives the final color of the fabric a yellow tint?
Patsy, great question! Yes you are correct. Nothing wrong at all with using natural colored beeswax for these projects.We have our own beehives as well and its a great way to use one of natures resources. When the yellow beeswax is mixed with the paraffin wax its not as yellow. It still will slightly tint your waxing project a yellow hue but not anything that is awfully noticeable. When I use our natural wax from our hive, I typically use it for when Im waxing gather darker colored canvas because then you really dont see a difference at all. If im waxing linen or a light cotton with a print on it, thats when im sure that I use the white beeswax that I recommend in the tutorial. But Id say if you have access to free beeswax, take advantage of it for sure. Thanks for your question. Good luck with your waxing projects and let me know if you have any more questions.
Hello, I am doing this for an overshirt and got some white stains when folding the shirt. It is 100% cotton. I don't mind the look but is there a way to lessen the white wax marks? Thank You so much for the amazing video!
are you talking about the lines that resemble "old leather" when the shirt is folded? Thats the look you are trying to achieve with waxing. If you'd like it to be less obvious you can put an old towel behind the shirt and iron it to remove more of the wax. See if that helps.
Hi, My daughter is wanting to create a sustainable coat for school textile class that is waterproof. Do you feel that the recipe that you used for this canvas would work? Thanks
Yes this recipe for a coat will absolutely work! I have used this recipe for bags (mostly), but have also make a waterproof outdoor furniture cover, lunch bags and more. A coat would be great!! Thanks so much for your question. Let me know if you need any more help! Best of luck to her!!!!
You know I haven’t ever tried to wax any sort of corduroy. If you do, can you please let me know how it goes? Now I’m curious. I have done quilting cotton, canvas, and linens and all of them turned out great!
Thank you for the tutorial, very professional and easy to follow! I'm trying to make a vegan wax, do you have any recommendations for an alternative wax that I could substitute the beeswax with?
Let me get out all my notes Megan from when I was testing wax recipes to see if I have any that I did that did not include beeswax. Glad you liked the tutorial-ill let you know about some other options for you
Hi! This was a great technique. I enjoyed doing it! I've tried other techniques before and it required a lot more was a lot more Muscle work and not as good of results. My question is, When I was painting it on with my wide chip brush it seemed to just. Absorb with my first swipe and then The brush was dry.,Was dry and I couldn't spread it out like you did. What do you do different that you got that entire fabric completely saturated with using stroke stroke stroke?? One stroke and the brush was dry for me. So I had to keep dipping an reapplying and in the end I had a lot of Heavier spots and lighter spots. Curious why I didn't have the same results as you did when painting the wax on the canvas? Thanks for the tutorial!
Actually, I went over a second time and it was perfect! I used a heavy canvas material, must have just been super absorbant. Thanks for the great tutorial!
Ok that was going to be my question was what weight canvas are you using. Thicker canvas material will require more of the wax until its fully saturated. I believe the canvas weight I use is 10oz. Glad you were able to figure it out. Its so great to be able to customize and wax your own.
I just tried this technique from this tutorial today and have the same experience as you. I’m using 8.85oz duck canvas (off the bolt from Joann’s) and I get one pass and my brush is dry. Nothing has soaked through to the other half. Nothing even soaked through to the back side for the piece I was waxing. I don’t understand. It took me 3x’s as much wax to do a 1 yard piece. And the wax is not cheap 😢
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! My question, towards the end you suggest that another option is dying a piece of pre-waxed cotton... are you sure that dye will take to such treated material? Thank you..!
Excellent tutorial! I followed your instructions and I have wonderful results. May I ask how you clean your brush when you are finished? The second time I used the same brush, a lot of wax built up in the brush. Thank you!
Hey Sharon! I don't clean my brush when I'm finished. I wax a lot of canvas for sewing projects so I typically leave the brush out so the wax hardens on the brush. Then when I wax more canvas, I did the brush in the hot wax and it melts quickly and I re-use. I buy the brushed with wooden handles and write on the handle "waxed canvas" so I know what I used the brush for. I make my own beeswax wraps and bags as well so I don't want to get the brushes mixed up. I store them when the wax is hard in a ziplock bag so I can use them over and over again. this will also keep dust from sticking to the brush when you aren't using them.
FYI , Harbor Freight has 2 and 3 inch "nice"' brushes for $.69 with a down loadable coupon for a short time. I use them for all sorts of things. Sometimes I even use them to paint something , who would have ever thought of using them for painting 🙄🤔???
Thank you for this tutorial. I am a novice at this technique and an curious is waxed canvas can be washed? I saw you mentioned not to put it in the dryer, but how would you suggest washing it? Also, can you do this same technique with quilting cotton fabric, or only cotton canvas?
Yes for sure you can do this with quilting cotton-I do It all the time! It’s amazing! You can do so many things with waxed materials. Usually when I need to clean my bags or items that have waxed canvas, I spot clean. If it needs to be washed, it’s in super cold water, xtra gentle cycle and gentle spin. But I really try and avoid washings machines and just spot clean. Hope this helps! Have fun with it- it provides endless possibilities
Thank you! Would you recommend using waxed canvas for recovering dining chairs? I’ve got a big family and want something durable and wipeable, stain resistant.
Yup you can also do that as well. Most time I cut out my pattern pieces first, then wax, also eliminates wasting was since you aren’t waxing pieces of fabric you aren’t going to need/use! Have fun.
If I were going to hand-sew a waxed canvas backpack, would it be easier to wax it after the backpack is sewn together or does it not make much of a difference as far as the difficulty of hand sewing through the waxed canvas?
I personally would wax the canvas first, then hand sew. Hand sewing through waxed canvas isn't that difficult. Waxing a bag after it has been sewn can be really challenging. The really tricky part is applying enough wax to coat the canvas but not over applying so it gets on other material that isnt supposed to be waxed (like the lining of the bag). Good luck! let me know if you have any more questions.
Hi, I do a fair amount of this and my practice is I always prewax the canvas, then I use a bee's wax cube and heavily wax the thread. Avoid cotton, use poly or linen thread. Tiger thread works well and small amounts of poly or linen TWIST (0.55mm) can be bought from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. Once stitched, run that wax cube over the stitch line to get a good build up. For the next step I now have a heating station with a wax spatula, but for years I just carefully used the tip of the iron to melt the wax into the seam. Very CAREFULLY and only hot enough to melt the wax if using poly like Tiger. A muffin tin with a release coat works perfectly for making wax cubes. Throw it in the fridge overnight and the cubes (pucks) will pop right out. Good luck. BTW; this video is how home fabric waxing is done! Follow it faithfully and without the mineral oil.
I don’t clean the brush at all. I let the wax harden and when I need to wax more canvas fabric, I set the brush into heated wax and it’s ready to use. That’s why I purchase inexpensive brushes.
For anyone else still wondering, it really doesn't matter all too much. Equal measurements of both are good, and so is a 1:10 ratio beeswax to paraffin or anything in-between.
Using just beexwax makes your fabric really sticky. I did try it, but the result wasn’t what I personally was looking for. I prefer not to be able to feel any residual products on my fabric. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have anymore questions
I'm working on a project where I want to achieve a quite dramatic wrinkle effect on my fabric (which will be a pair of pants), do you have any suggestions for how I could make my fabric stay in that wrinkled shape permanently?
for regular fabric I have some stuff you can iron onto the backside that achieves that wrinkled look. let me see if I can find something for waxed canvas. When I want my waxed canvas to have a really wrinkly/rustic/worn leather look, I wrinkle the canvas by hand before I start my project and I wrinkle it until I get the look that I want.
@@homemadeonourhomestead I thought of making it with waxed canvas initially but that is a good idea too! maybe some sort of heavier interfacing could also help shape it in a weird way as well.. To experiment how I can achieve the look, I think what I'm going to do is try to wax a pair of dickies work pants and wrinkle it then dry it in order for it to stay in shape. If you have any tips, please let me know! also I would love to keep you updated with this experiment if I can email or send you some process pictures
Absolutely! This is the go to method for me when I know what I’m going to be sewing. I cut, then wax. Less waste. If I know I’m going to be using a lot, then I just wax full pieces. But yes, cutting out first will save you money and you’ll waste less
I have tried so many different recipes and variations of wax recipes. When I tried making waxed canvas without the parrafin, it was really sticky like beeswax wraps, which isnt good for bag making and projects. The paffafin also adds that amazing waxed look (similar to leather). Hope this helps.
You know I can’t answer that honestly. I would say if it had the right blend of parafin and beeswax that it could work. But I have honestly never tried it. If you do and it works, let us know. I definetly wouldn’t recommend colored candles as it will tinge the color of your fabric whatever color your candle is
Yes you can use candle wax. You just wanna make sure it's paraffin or a paraffin blend wax. The best way is to buy plain white wax from walmart craft section or from a hobby store. I think hobby lobby sells big blocks of paraffin candle wax. Here is a trick to make the process faster and end result more even. Brush the wax on liberally and make sure the canvas is thoroughly waxed. It doesn't have to be even but you don't want it to puddle either. Use a box fan to cool it quickly then do the wrinkle test to get any large amounts of excess wax off the canvas. A little excess is ok but you don't want a lot. Stuff it inside a pillow case or 2 and toss it in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat. It'll cause the canvas to thoroughly absord the wax.
Unfortunately not. The beeswax makes the fabric pliable when waxed and if you use only paraffin the fabric is crunchy and doesn’t have the same textures
When you said 8 oz of paraffin wax to every 4 oz of beeswax, is that by weight or by volume? Dry weights are different than liquid weights , 8 oz of flour, by weight, is not one cup of flour, it's more like three cups of flour, you said you were using and measuring cup which measure volume (a 1/2 cup of water by volume, is still 4oz by weight.) I just would like to clarify so I don't have a whole bunch of wax that I can't use, at least right now. LOL I understand it is a 1:2 ratio, so I guess if I stick with that I'm good. Also thank you for the tutorial! I learned this about dry weights the hard way. I was making some barbecue sauce and it called for one cup of black pepper, and my can said 8 oz so I dumped the whole thing in there! It was way, way, WAY too much pepper!
Hey Tanya! So thank you for mentioning this! I should have said in the video why i dont use steam when i do this. I personally found that when waxing canvas it isnt necessary to add moisture to something you are trying to essentially make waterproof. The biggest reason though, is because when you are ironing the waxing mixture into your canvas fabric, I found that it actually was causing some spatter from my iron. That spatter was not just from the water in my iron , but also the wax mixture. So it go on my clothes and my table and seemed to make a bigger mess. I got someof that spatter on my arm too and got a little burn. So it may just be my iron-i really don't know. but the iron i purchased I bough only for waxing canvas and other craft projects so it doesnt get used all the time so it has stayed in really great shape. This is just what I have found worked best for me. I have tried with and without steam and found that steam isnt necessary, you achieve the same results without, less mess without steam, and it really just isnt necessary since you are trying to achieve a waterproof surface as the end result. Hope this makes sense. Thanks for asking though. Now I'm wishing i would have addressed this in the video lol.
This seems like an interesting skill to have. That said it looks like an expensive project. Cost of materials plus investment of time, seems to me like you are not saving any money. Unless you can't find the canvas you want waxed. But all this to wax one yard of fabric?
This def isn’t just for waxing canvas, you can also wax cotton fabric. I usually cut all my projects out, then wax them. It gives me flexibility knowing I can do it myself and not be limited to the colors available online. Plus, when I find canvas on sale, I buy it in bulk and it actually saves me quite a bit. But that’s just me, you can also buy it pre-done if that works better for you.
Very good tutorial. Waxed canvas isn't just for bags any more; it makes great gear for the guy's workshop, too.
It is better if you put baking paper under it before ironing, then the excess wax collects on the paper and can be used again.
Some people use a heat gun if you don't want an extra iron - also some use heavy duty foil to protect iron.
Both great tips! Thank you
What a wonderful tutorial and fun project! And it was great to read all the questions here and see your answers to them ALL. Can't wait to try this with my daughter!
Thank you!
I love waxing canvas for projects. Have fun!
Thank you for this tutorial! I had been wanting to try making my own waxed canvas, and did my first piece today. I live near a HUGE textile warehouse - where I can pick up some fabulous home dec remnants (well, remnants for some people - perfect cuts for bagmakers!)
Last week I picked up a beautiful vintage-y blue designer linen with white dandelion puffs, but had been stored at some point for too long near a sunny spot. It has slight sun faded marks kind of all over (I paid about 2 bucks for 3/4 yd) BUT… I waxed it today… which added to the vintage vibe 😂 We’ll see what type of bag it becomes - maybe a 50’s vibe beach bag!
Thanks for the great tutorial , really good idea to put another piece of fabric underneath, as well as dyeing the drop cloth😊🇨🇦
For my raincoats, shop apron and other heavy-duty clothing, I prefer using a mixture of beeswax, linseed oil, turpentine, pine tar and essential oils for scent. When I am making something like a flannel lined raincoat, I dye the canvas first, then will cut out the pieces of canvas I need. Before sewing I'll treat them with my mixture and let them dry outside in the sun, then sew them together with the flannel.
I was told that your method is very effective but more flammable..
I’d like to try both, however, and was wondering what ratio you use roughly? Thank you
@@erinmichelle6313 Any time you're using turpentine, it's very flammable when wet, but not so much when dry. Before they switched to percethelyne, dry cleaners used to clean your clothes in naphtha. Naphtha is the same thing as Ronsonol lighter fluid for zippo lighters. It's crazy flammable, but once it dried your clothes were safe.
Just be careful when you're working it into the cloth. Once it dries it's fine.
I've also read linseed oil is highly flammable (120 C) without outside spark.
Ohh! I found the info you're talking about the turpentine:
"Is It Flammable When Dry?
In theory, no. When turpentine is 100% dry, the flammable components have evaporated and there is no chance of it catching fire.
There are two problems with this.
1. If the turpentine is not 100% dry, it will remain flammable - so you need to be very careful when disposing of rags, brushes, etc. doused in turpentine.
2. If the turpentine dries in a poorly ventilated space, there may be fumes hanging around that are still flammable."
I've tested this. I use terpentine, bees-wax, and linseed oil and it is not particular flammable. The terpentine's purpose is to thin the wax, but it's volatile and only a few impurities are left after drying, so there's hardly anything there in the end. Linseed oil is flammable because it likes to oxydize fairly quickly even without heat being applied... this is why you need to be careful with linseed oil soaked rags, don't leave them in a crumpled ball where heat can build up or they can spontaniously combust. Burning is just fast oxydization in a runaway reaction. But after you coat something you let it "dry" and the linseed oil oxidyzes fully and there's nothing left to burn. Linseed oil is like wood, the remainder in your fabric once it oxidyzes is like ash. And beeswax isn't all that flammable.
When I tested lighting it, it burned quite slowly, much more slowly than untreated cotton actually, and orders of magnitude more slowly than a modern plastic breathable raincoat with government mandated fire retardent.
Thank you very informative. You do a really nice job of explaining as you demonstrate.
Thank you Steven
Thank you for the demonstration, waxed canvas fabric is great. It's good to learn how it is made
you are so welcome. Its super fun to do it yourself too.
The best explanation of this process. Many thanks
Of course! Happy to help Jeff
This helped me out a ton, thank you!
Great tutorial. Thank you
Really good demonstration. I can't wait to try this thank you!
Thanks Scott! Let me know if you have any questions about anything on the video-happy to help!
I know it is quite off topic but does anyone know a good website to stream newly released movies online ?
@Jerome Tomas Flixportal =)
@Samuel Emilio thanks, signed up and it seems like a nice service :) Appreciate it !
@Jerome Tomas happy to help xD
‼️THANK YOU ‼️ for your awesome tutorial, I plan to make some totes wit canvas, and this it will make it more attractive to people, I will keep following you ‼️
Best video out there doing this! Thank you!!
thanks nick!
This is a great tutorial. Thank you!
Wow!!
Good job! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you :)
Hello. I like this video a great deal. I have a roll of cotton artists canvas will keep neutral white and I am planning to sew it into a chef knife bag and I am pretty excited about waxing it and will use your method. Just great. THANK YOU.
Oh thank you!!
Great video. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Great video. Thank you
Youre welcome! let me know if you have any questions, I'm always happy to help.
Thank you!!
Diane Varner you’re very welcome.
Cool video, I found really cheap canvas at harbor freight. I did something similar with paste wax for a tool role. Not a great smelling product but my tools stoped rusting.
Thank you for this awesome tutorial! If you wanted to stencil on the fabric would you do it before or after adding the wax? Thanks again, this was very helpful!
So keen to do this for a bag I am making. Looking for wax at the moment :-)
Awesome! It’s so much fun and great for so many projects!
You can buy the canvas drop cloth at Lowe's, paint stores,ace hardware ect.
Yes you can. But I prefer the one without a seam down the middle. Plus the ones I found on Amazon were actually cheaper for the size.
But you are correct, most hardware stores will have them
Bees wax is a natural biologic which will mold or mildew over time in an outdoor situation like for tent canvas. Paraffin wax is a hydrocarbon that is not prone to mold in such cases.
This is beeswax and parafin wax blended
I do a lot of leather work and fabric work and have a half dozen 4 inch squares of 1/2 inch thick plate steel that I use to hold material in place.
Great Idea Charles. Thanks for sharing.
@@homemadeonourhomestead side note, if you’ve a metal retailer near you they have usually a bin of end cuts/scrap that are much less expensive than having the retailer cut finished pieces. Though a person then needs a means of cutting and finishing the steel.
Hello! I followed your tutorial last week and made some incredible waxed canvas. I’m really excited to make more. I ran into an issue, though, that I wondered if you had encountered- with my iron on high, it poured smoke off of the surface for the whole project. My family was not pleased! I kept unplugging it while I brushed and then heating it for each time I needed the iron, going quickly to lessen the smoke time. Any advice for this? You say that your iron is on high and I didn’t see smoke at all. I just have a cheap, regular iron. Thanks for any advice you can offer!
I appreciate all your work on this. You can buy waxed canvas online for about 19.99/yd + shipping.
Hi Nancy. thanks for sharing. Yes waxed canvas by the yard can get so expensive which is why i just make my own. you can also wax cotton and linen fabric as well.
hi that thanks so much for your tips about waxing canvas, I know it's a late comment to your upload, but I wondered if you had used the liners in the crock pot? And If so if that works okay with this wax and paraffin method? thanks so much, I cannot wait to wax canvas.
This looks so easy and fun to do! If I decide to dye my canvas, what brand of dye should I use? I have Rit in liquid form that I've been wanting to use for a while now. Thank you for such a great video :)
RIT dye will work great!. Only suggestion is to make sure you PRE-SOAK the canvas to fully saturate with water first. This will make sure that the canvas absorbs the stain evenly. Try adding 1 TBS of salt to the water as well. This helps too.
@@homemadeonourhomestead Awesome! thank you so much! :)
Can you wax other natural fiber fabrics (a strong cotton, linen, etc)?
Thank you, thank you. Excellent tutorial. In your experience, does the wax stay put in high temperatures? Here in Cali the inside of my car can be 120 degrees. Don’t want tomruin my yarn.
Hi Gloria! Glad the tutorial was helpful. You know, I've never had an issue with the wax melting once it was done. But that being said, it doesnt get quite that hot here in WA. It is recommended not to pu waxed canvas fabric in the dryer becaseu it could melt and make a mess so my thought would be that it would do the same in a hot car. If you were going to make a knittitng bag with waxed canvas, i would maybe make a little swatch of the canvas and leave it in your car on a hot day and see how it behaves. If you iron the waxed canvas on a towel and remove as much of the extra wax as possible, it may be ok. But honestly I cant advise either way since I dont have any experiance. To be safe, I'd say dont chance a beautiful kniotting project or yarn. If you do try it, let me know how it goes. Now I'm really curious.
This is a great tutorial. Thank you! Two questions: do you burnish your material after you've applied the wax? I used Otter Wax and your supposed to burnish it with your fingers or a special tool after applying the wax. Also, how long do you let it cure for before using the material?
I dont burnish it at all. I do let it sit (cure) for about 24 hours before I use it to sew with. I also use a teflon foot when I sew with waxed canvas-it really helps :)
@@homemadeonourhomestead Thank you! That is super helpful!
thanks for the tutorial. I'm novice and I like to know if I can use cotton fabric (quilting fabric or lightweight fabric) instead of canvas
Yes you can :)
It just won’t be as thick.
I have a question. Should i print on the canvas before or after i wax? Like print a design
Can you wax regular fabric to make of feel like canvas fabric?
This is absolutely brilliant! I'm adding this to my to-do list!
Edit: Question - why the combination of paraffin and beeswax? Could I do this with other waxes?
Well these are the combos of waxes that I have tried that produced the best results. When I tried with more beeswax, it was a lot more sticky, difficult to work with and didn’t love the end result. When I did more parafin wax I felt like it was far too dry and didn’t manipulate like I wanted it too. So this combo seemed to work the best. I love being able to wax fabric and canvas for my own specific projects
@@homemadeonourhomestead Okay, good to know, thank you!
@@homemadeonourhomestead Ao helpful to know! Thank you!
Great instructions. So I don’t have to turn it over and do the other side?
No need to turn over and do the other side. If you apply enough wax to the one side and iron thoroughly, there should be plenty to coat the entire piece. When Im finished waxing, I do always turn it over, open the piece up, just to make sure all pieces are coated. If I missed a spot, I just touch up that little spot, iron and then im done. No need to apply wax to both sides though. If anything, you'll end up with too much wax (you'd see a white film when it dries) which would then need to be ironed off, which in turn just means your wasting wax and materials. Thanks so much for your question. Good luck!
thanks for sharing! do you pre-wash your canvas to remove sizing and pre-shrink?
I don’t pre-was canvas. It’s the only fabric I don’t wash before use. But once you wax it you’ll only be spot cleaning it so it has never been an issue for me. Hope this helps
thank you very much for your tutorial. One question please : Is dyed canvas dont loose its colors threw time ? yhks a lot
I’ve never had an issue with my canvas loosing its color.
Thank you for the video and links. Can a foam roller be used to apply wax instead of brush.
I’m sure that would work great as well. I’ve never tried it. But if you do, please let me know how it goes
Did you trim your paint brush or can you buy them like that?
Thank you so much for the excellent tut. It is very informative and helpful. I ordered everything I need from
amazon, except for iron. will get that from thrift store. The cost of waxed canvas is pricey, so this will be very usefull and keep costs down. My questions are: I heard that canvas is polyester. Should I buy polyester or cotton canvas to wax? I intend on making bags. Also, do you keep your waxed canvas on tubes or do you fold the fabric and then just iron out the marks when you make your project?
Great questions. So first, I only buy 💯 percent cotton canvas to make bags-never polyester. I store the canvas I’ve waxed folded and then iron (if I want to) and then use. I would store rolled on tubes but I don’t have the space (sadly)z
@@homemadeonourhomestead Tfhank you, what percent of cotton canvas do you use? There's a rose there so I don't know what your answer is. Thank you.
Are you wanting to know the weight density of the cotton canvas? I only use 100% cotton canvas. I purchase my canvas at Joann fabrics when It goes on sale. Otherwise I always use a coupon to obtain the best price.
Let me see if I can find the weight of the canvas I use.
So the canvas I buy is 8.85 oz and is 59” in width. So when you buy it on sale it’s really a bargain.
How would you “erase” scratches in a waxed canvas bag? Would you add more wax, or use some kind of liquid cleaner?
By scratches do you mean just from carrying it? It’s meant to look like worn leather so it will get scratches and it gives it a great look. If you don’t like the scratches on it, I’d recommend just ironing that area with a hot iron. It re-melts the wax and redistributes it
Great video! Thank you for sharing. I have one question. I have a LOT of natural beeswax (my sister & BIL raise honeybees) that isn’t filtered, meaning it comes from the hive yellow/gold. Does that make a big impact? Maybe just gives the final color of the fabric a yellow tint?
Patsy, great question! Yes you are correct. Nothing wrong at all with using natural colored beeswax for these projects.We have our own beehives as well and its a great way to use one of natures resources. When the yellow beeswax is mixed with the paraffin wax its not as yellow. It still will slightly tint your waxing project a yellow hue but not anything that is awfully noticeable. When I use our natural wax from our hive, I typically use it for when Im waxing gather darker colored canvas because then you really dont see a difference at all. If im waxing linen or a light cotton with a print on it, thats when im sure that I use the white beeswax that I recommend in the tutorial. But Id say if you have access to free beeswax, take advantage of it for sure. Thanks for your question. Good luck with your waxing projects and let me know if you have any more questions.
I’m wondering if I should wax the canvas I use to make my piano shell bag...
Yes if you need it water and dust proof. Project for us!?
Can you wash a waxed canvas or does it naturally resist stain? Also, does it need to 100% cotton?
Hello, I am doing this for an overshirt and got some white stains when folding the shirt. It is 100% cotton. I don't mind the look but is there a way to lessen the white wax marks? Thank You so much for the amazing video!
are you talking about the lines that resemble "old leather" when the shirt is folded? Thats the look you are trying to achieve with waxing. If you'd like it to be less obvious you can put an old towel behind the shirt and iron it to remove more of the wax. See if that helps.
Hi,
My daughter is wanting to create a sustainable coat for school textile class that is waterproof. Do you feel that the recipe that you used for this canvas would work? Thanks
Yes this recipe for a coat will absolutely work! I have used this recipe for bags (mostly), but have also make a waterproof outdoor furniture cover, lunch bags and more. A coat would be great!! Thanks so much for your question. Let me know if you need any more help! Best of luck to her!!!!
Have you ever tried waxing corduroy? Like a fine we’ll corduroy? And if so are there any tips or would it be exactly the same call?
You know I haven’t ever tried to wax any sort of corduroy. If you do, can you please let me know how it goes? Now I’m curious. I have done quilting cotton, canvas, and linens and all of them turned out great!
Wondering if you came across alternatives to wax and also specifically $20 per yard wax.
Thank you for the tutorial, very professional and easy to follow! I'm trying to make a vegan wax, do you have any recommendations for an alternative wax that I could substitute the beeswax with?
Let me get out all my notes Megan from when I was testing wax recipes to see if I have any that I did that did not include beeswax. Glad you liked the tutorial-ill let you know about some other options for you
Hi! This was a great technique. I enjoyed doing it! I've tried other techniques before and it required a lot more was a lot more Muscle work and not as good of results. My question is, When I was painting it on with my wide chip brush it seemed to just. Absorb with my first swipe and then The brush was dry.,Was dry and I couldn't spread it out like you did. What do you do different that you got that entire fabric completely saturated with using stroke stroke stroke?? One stroke and the brush was dry for me. So I had to keep dipping an reapplying and in the end I had a lot of Heavier spots and lighter spots. Curious why I didn't have the same results as you did when painting the wax on the canvas? Thanks for the tutorial!
Actually, I went over a second time and it was perfect! I used a heavy canvas material, must have just been super absorbant. Thanks for the great tutorial!
Ok that was going to be my question was what weight canvas are you using. Thicker canvas material will require more of the wax until its fully saturated. I believe the canvas weight I use is 10oz. Glad you were able to figure it out. Its so great to be able to customize and wax your own.
I just tried this technique from this tutorial today and have the same experience as you. I’m using 8.85oz duck canvas (off the bolt from Joann’s) and I get one pass and my brush is dry. Nothing has soaked through to the other half. Nothing even soaked through to the back side for the piece I was waxing. I don’t understand. It took me 3x’s as much wax to do a 1 yard piece. And the wax is not cheap 😢
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! My question, towards the end you suggest that another option is dying a piece of pre-waxed cotton... are you sure that dye will take to such treated material? Thank you..!
I believe she said the canvas was cheap for a 6x9 piece that you could dye and then wax it.
yes exactly. thank you mark for clarifying
Yes what mark said. You can buy a color free canvas, dye it, then wax it so you can get a more custom color. You wont be able to dye a waxed canvas
@@homemadeonourhomestead Great, thank you for replying :)
Excellent tutorial! I followed your instructions and I have wonderful results. May I ask how you clean your brush when you are finished? The second time I used the same brush, a lot of wax built up in the brush. Thank you!
Hey Sharon! I don't clean my brush when I'm finished. I wax a lot of canvas for sewing projects so I typically leave the brush out so the wax hardens on the brush. Then when I wax more canvas, I did the brush in the hot wax and it melts quickly and I re-use. I buy the brushed with wooden handles and write on the handle "waxed canvas" so I know what I used the brush for. I make my own beeswax wraps and bags as well so I don't want to get the brushes mixed up. I store them when the wax is hard in a ziplock bag so I can use them over and over again. this will also keep dust from sticking to the brush when you aren't using them.
FYI , Harbor Freight has 2 and 3 inch "nice"' brushes for $.69 with a down loadable coupon for a short time. I use them for all sorts of things. Sometimes I even use them to paint something , who would have ever thought of using them for painting 🙄🤔???
@@coburnlowman thanks for the tip Phil!! I usually buy them on amazon for ease of ordering, but this is a great price!!
hello, is it possible to use the same formula ( 2:1 ratio of paraffin wax and beeswax) on a canvas jacket?
Thank you for this tutorial. I am a novice at this technique and an curious is waxed canvas can be washed? I saw you mentioned not to put it in the dryer, but how would you suggest washing it? Also, can you do this same technique with quilting cotton fabric, or only cotton canvas?
Yes for sure you can do this with quilting cotton-I do It all the time! It’s amazing! You can do so many things with waxed materials. Usually when I need to clean my bags or items that have waxed canvas, I spot clean. If it needs to be washed, it’s in super cold water, xtra gentle cycle and gentle spin. But I really try and avoid washings machines and just spot clean. Hope this helps! Have fun with it- it provides endless possibilities
@@homemadeonourhomestead Thank you!!
Thank you! Would you recommend using waxed canvas for recovering dining chairs? I’ve got a big family and want something durable and wipeable, stain resistant.
Hmmm. I think they’d be durable, but I don’t know how that would work with body heat being on them for prolonged periods of time.
Maybe try Odicoat for your project.
Do you pre-was your fabric?
Have you ever tried it with another yard of canvas below to not waste the excess wax into a towel? I’m going to try this next week.
Yup you can also do that as well. Most time I cut out my pattern pieces first, then wax, also eliminates wasting was since you aren’t waxing pieces of fabric you aren’t going to need/use! Have fun.
I would like to make a rain coat, but I want to make it with thin cotton fabric like the one used to make girl dresses. can it work or not?
absolutely this will work!! good luck. let us see your results when you are finished.
If I were going to hand-sew a waxed canvas backpack, would it be easier to wax it after the backpack is sewn together or does it not make much of a difference as far as the difficulty of hand sewing through the waxed canvas?
I personally would wax the canvas first, then hand sew. Hand sewing through waxed canvas isn't that difficult. Waxing a bag after it has been sewn can be really challenging. The really tricky part is applying enough wax to coat the canvas but not over applying so it gets on other material that isnt supposed to be waxed (like the lining of the bag). Good luck! let me know if you have any more questions.
homemadeonourhomestead thanks!
@@maxteigen1679 youre welcome
Hi, I do a fair amount of this and my practice is I always prewax the canvas, then I use a bee's wax cube and heavily wax the thread. Avoid cotton, use poly or linen thread. Tiger thread works well and small amounts of poly or linen TWIST (0.55mm) can be bought from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. Once stitched, run that wax cube over the stitch line to get a good build up. For the next step I now have a heating station with a wax spatula, but for years I just carefully used the tip of the iron to melt the wax into the seam. Very CAREFULLY and only hot enough to melt the wax if using poly like Tiger. A muffin tin with a release coat works perfectly for making wax cubes. Throw it in the fridge overnight and the cubes (pucks) will pop right out. Good luck. BTW; this video is how home fabric waxing is done! Follow it faithfully and without the mineral oil.
It would be very hard to iron a tent. A painters heat gun comes in handy to run the wax into the fabric.
I agree that it would be hard to iron a tent. But yes a heat gun would work
Can you use cheese wax for this-I know it is a blend of waxes with paraffin also-I just have quite a bit of new cheese wax in hand
You know I have never tried that. Now I’m curious if that would work. If you try it, please let me know
After applying wax+parapin, How do you clean the brush?
It is the cloth for painting?
Thank you !!
I don’t clean the brush at all. I let the wax harden and when I need to wax more canvas fabric, I set the brush into heated wax and it’s ready to use. That’s why I purchase inexpensive brushes.
I don’t use a drop cloth. I have an old towel that I only use for waxing canvas fabric
Hello, I am worried about the wax gumming up my sewing machine if I was my canvas before sewing. Has this been a problem for you?
Could you tell us the proportion in grammars for bee wax and parafin? Thank you
For anyone else still wondering, it really doesn't matter all too much. Equal measurements of both are good, and so is a 1:10 ratio beeswax to paraffin or anything in-between.
Could you just use bee’s wax and not add Parifin? Thank you
Using just beexwax makes your fabric really sticky. I did try it, but the result wasn’t what I personally was looking for. I prefer not to be able to feel any residual products on my fabric. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have anymore questions
I'm working on a project where I want to achieve a quite dramatic wrinkle effect on my fabric (which will be a pair of pants), do you have any suggestions for how I could make my fabric stay in that wrinkled shape permanently?
are you looking specifically to do this for waxed canvas or regular fabric?
for regular fabric I have some stuff you can iron onto the backside that achieves that wrinkled look. let me see if I can find something for waxed canvas. When I want my waxed canvas to have a really wrinkly/rustic/worn leather look, I wrinkle the canvas by hand before I start my project and I wrinkle it until I get the look that I want.
@@homemadeonourhomestead I thought of making it with waxed canvas initially but that is a good idea too! maybe some sort of heavier interfacing could also help shape it in a weird way as well.. To experiment how I can achieve the look, I think what I'm going to do is try to wax a pair of dickies work pants and wrinkle it then dry it in order for it to stay in shape. If you have any tips, please let me know! also I would love to keep you updated with this experiment if I can email or send you some process pictures
Does waxed canvas drop cloth end up pretty rigid?
not if you use a 100% cotton canvas to start with
Can this be done for tablecloths?
Yes! Works great
How do you open the can of paraffin? Can't figure it out.
Can I cut out pattern pieces then wax?
Absolutely! This is the go to method for me when I know what I’m going to be sewing. I cut, then wax. Less waste. If I know I’m going to be using a lot, then I just wax full pieces.
But yes, cutting out first will save you money and you’ll waste less
What is the purpose of the Parrafin wax
I have tried so many different recipes and variations of wax recipes. When I tried making waxed canvas without the parrafin, it was really sticky like beeswax wraps, which isnt good for bag making and projects. The paffafin also adds that amazing waxed look (similar to leather). Hope this helps.
Does this wreck your iron? Can it be cleaned and used to iron clothes again?
I'm sure you could use an iron cleaner to clean your iron. I just bought an inexpensive one that I strictly use for crafts.
@@homemadeonourhomestead Ok, thanks!
Does waxed cotton lose a lot of
durability under hot weather? I'm worried it'll just start melting off.
Nope. It won’t melt off. There’s isn’t that much excessive wax left on the fabric when you’re done
Thank you for the reply.
The fabric turned yellow, what did I do wrong? Thanks
Hi! Would like to ask if this is possible with candle wax. Im a cheap bastard, as you might guess.
You know I can’t answer that honestly. I would say if it had the right blend of parafin and beeswax that it could work. But I have honestly never tried it.
If you do and it works, let us know. I definetly wouldn’t recommend colored candles as it will tinge the color of your fabric whatever color your candle is
Yes you can use candle wax. You just wanna make sure it's paraffin or a paraffin blend wax. The best way is to buy plain white wax from walmart craft section or from a hobby store. I think hobby lobby sells big blocks of paraffin candle wax. Here is a trick to make the process faster and end result more even. Brush the wax on liberally and make sure the canvas is thoroughly waxed. It doesn't have to be even but you don't want it to puddle either. Use a box fan to cool it quickly then do the wrinkle test to get any large amounts of excess wax off the canvas. A little excess is ok but you don't want a lot. Stuff it inside a pillow case or 2 and toss it in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat. It'll cause the canvas to thoroughly absord the wax.
If i wax using parafin only would it still work?
Unfortunately not. The beeswax makes the fabric pliable when waxed and if you use only paraffin the fabric is crunchy and doesn’t have the same textures
@@homemadeonourhomestead what aboutcoconut oil, would it work? Anyway thanks for your reply!
When you said 8 oz of paraffin wax to every 4 oz of beeswax, is that by weight or by volume? Dry weights are different than liquid weights , 8 oz of flour, by weight, is not one cup of flour, it's more like three cups of flour, you said you were using and measuring cup which measure volume (a 1/2 cup of water by volume, is still 4oz by weight.)
I just would like to clarify so I don't have a whole bunch of wax that I can't use, at least right now. LOL
I understand it is a 1:2 ratio, so I guess if I stick with that I'm good.
Also thank you for the tutorial!
I learned this about dry weights the hard way. I was making some barbecue sauce and it called for one cup of black pepper, and my can said 8 oz so I dumped the whole thing in there! It was way, way, WAY too much pepper!
I also had a thought; couldn't you bypass the towel and let the wax seep into the cardboard and then cut that up and use it for fire starter?
I've saw another tutorial that said to use steam. In your experience, why don't you use steam?
Hey Tanya! So thank you for mentioning this! I should have said in the video why i dont use steam when i do this. I personally found that when waxing canvas it isnt necessary to add moisture to something you are trying to essentially make waterproof. The biggest reason though, is because when you are ironing the waxing mixture into your canvas fabric, I found that it actually was causing some spatter from my iron. That spatter was not just from the water in my iron , but also the wax mixture. So it go on my clothes and my table and seemed to make a bigger mess. I got someof that spatter on my arm too and got a little burn. So it may just be my iron-i really don't know. but the iron i purchased I bough only for waxing canvas and other craft projects so it doesnt get used all the time so it has stayed in really great shape. This is just what I have found worked best for me. I have tried with and without steam and found that steam isnt necessary, you achieve the same results without, less mess without steam, and it really just isnt necessary since you are trying to achieve a waterproof surface as the end result. Hope this makes sense. Thanks for asking though. Now I'm wishing i would have addressed this in the video lol.
This seems like an interesting skill to have. That said it looks like an expensive project. Cost of materials plus investment of time, seems to me like you are not saving any money. Unless you can't find the canvas you want waxed. But all this to wax one yard of fabric?
This def isn’t just for waxing canvas, you can also wax cotton fabric. I usually cut all my projects out, then wax them.
It gives me flexibility knowing I can do it myself and not be limited to the colors available online.
Plus, when I find canvas on sale, I buy it in bulk and it actually saves me quite a bit.
But that’s just me, you can also buy it pre-done if that works better for you.
👍💪💪💪😍😍😍💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
Can't use iron on a backpack.
You can use a heat gun though 😁
Great. But please not that repeating-incessant music.
ok sorry
Why do so many Tubers present simple subjects at the same level as kindergarten teachers instructing babes in fingerpainting? We're not that lame!!
Have a great day