The Art of Book Making

Homemade Paper-Handmade Paper

♥*♡∞:｡.｡ Homemade Paper ｡.｡:∞♡*♥

        Handmade Paper

Supplies:

- Water

- Scrap papers

- Plastic storage tub/vat

- Kitchen blender
    - Get one from the thrift store

- Mould & Deckle

- Wood boards or sponge & rolling pin

- Towels, wool blankets, cloth, Pellon, Sham-wow, or other absorbent material

Step 1: Cut up Paper
        Cut or rip up your paper into about one inch squares. Soak your paper for a few hours overnight in water.
        Drawing, printmaking, and watercolor papers are best because they are generally made from strong fibers (such as cotton rag, and not chemically treated tree fiber). Your scrap choice and its characteristics dictate the quality of the final sheet.
        Experiment with junk mail, office paper, paper grocery bags, rejection letters, and more. No plastic. Also, experiment with different color combinations.

Step 2: Blend it & Make a Vat of Pulp
        Fill up a kitchen blender with water. Throw in a good handful or two of the cut up scrap papers (not too much more, or you'll burn the blender motor out). Blend. Keep blending until it's a pulp.
        Don't make your smoothies with that blender anymore :'3
        Fill up the tub with your blended pulp about ⅓ to ½ way. Add more water to the vat. The more pulp to water, the thicker your paper will be.

Step 3: Pull Some Sheets
        For this, you'll need a mould and deckle. Stir your vat of pulp. Hold the mould screen side up and place the deckle evenly on top. Holding them together at a 45-degree angle, dip the mould and deckle to the bottom of the vat and scoop up, holding the mould and deckle horizontally. As you lift it out of the slurry, give it a quick shake back and forth, and left to right to align the fibers and make a more uniform sheet. Stop shaking before the sheet is fully drained. Let the water drain to a drip.

Step 4: Couching
        "Couching" means to transfer the wet sheet from the mould to a flat, absorbent surface. Wool felts are ideal, but there are many other options: wool blankets, smoother towels, thick paper towels, non-fusible interfacing or Pellon, Sham-wows, or bed sheets. Set up your felt with a board underneath and soak your couching materials. Remove the deckle from the mould. Place a long edge of the mould on the felt. In one smooth motion, place the mould face down, press down, and lift from that initial edge. Think of this like a close the door, open the door motion.

Step 5: Pressing

Option 1: Hand Pressing

        Place Pellon or paper towel on top of your freshly couched sheet. With a sponge, press gently at first, then press firmly with as much pressure as possible. A rolling pin or paint roller would help press your paper even more.

Option 2: Board Pressing
        Place another felt on top of your freshly couched sheet. Continue to couch another sheet, layer another felt, and repeat. Layer one final felt and another wood board when you've made a stack. Take the post outside to a concrete or stone surface and stand on it.

Step 6: Drying

Option 1: Surface Drying
        Find a flat, non-porous surface. Smooth wood boards, plexiglass, windows, and Formica surfaces work well. Take your wet sheet and gently press it onto the flat surface. Make sure the edges are pressed down well. Let the paper dry for 1-3 days (depending on humidity levels and thickness of the paper). Peel it off.

Option 2: Exchange Drying
        Get some blotters, towels, or other absorbent, dry, flat material. Layer the material and then your wet handmade paper on top. Repeat. Create a stack. When you're done, place a wood board or a book on top. Weigh it down with more books or something heavy. Check it once every day and exchange the damp material with dry material until your paper is dry.

Option 3: No Restraint Drying
        Take your wet sheet and throw it on a shelf, table, counter, and let it dry. It'll be wild, wrinkly, and textured.

Option 4: Dry on Pellon or Cloth
        After pressing, peel and hang up the cloth or Pellon (with the wet paper still stuck to it) that you've couched onto, and hong a clothesline with the top edge of the Pellon. Because you've pressed the paper to the Pellon, the Pellon will restrain the paper as it dries. Once the paper is dry (1-2 days), peel it from the Pellon. The paper will be slightly wavy.

        Also, if you have leftover pulp in the tub, you can save it. Take a mesh paint strainer bag, or a fine mesh pasta strainer to drain out all the water. A condensed version of the pulp will be left. Squeeze that into a ball and let it dry. To reuse, simply soak overnight, rip apart, and blend again.