Paper Making
Old paper turned into new paper.
Paper making is the craft of turning pulped fiber back into sheets of paper. You shred old paper, soak it, blend it into pulp, lift sheets onto a screen, and press them dry.
It's a wet, splashy hobby. You need a sink or a tub and somewhere flat for sheets to dry. The cleanup is the most labor-intensive part of the process.
Most beginners start with old paper (junk mail, magazines, scrap notebooks) for the pulp. You can add plant fibers, threads, dried flowers, anything that holds together in pulp. The finished paper has texture and irregularities you can't get from a printer.
You’ll love paper making if…
- you'd like to recycle old paper into something better.
- you want to embed flowers, threads, or seeds into the result.
- no two pieces being alike sounds good to you.
What you'll need to get started
Paper making kit with deckle and mould
The deckle is the wooden frame, the mould is the screen that catches the pulp. A starter kit usually includes both plus pulp.
Dedicated thrift-store blender
Pulp ruins kitchen blenders. A cheap second-hand one used only for paper making is the standard solution.
Hand papermaking fundamentals
Walks through pulp recipes, sheet-forming techniques, and what to do with finished paper.
Cotton linters
Pure cotton fiber for nicer paper than recycled junk. Worth it once you want presentation-quality sheets.
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