DIY Network

Making Paper Learn the steps to creating your own paper for your crafting projects. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-107

Guest Heidi Reimer-Epp joins host Jennifer Perkins to discuss the tools of the trade and demonstrates how to make paper using pulp in a blender. The pulp is poured and pressed to make paper.

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Guest Heidi Reimer-Epp teaches the art of papermaking so you can create your own cards.

Project designed by Heidi Reimer-Epp.

Materials:

Mold and Deckle Set
small wash basin or plastic storage container
household blender—not a food processor
newspaper
tray or lid to catch the drips from papermaking
12 kitchen towels (example: J-cloth brand) cut in half
piece of a wool blanket—9" x 12"
wire whisk
sponge
1/2 lb. each of used office/computer paper, cotton linter pulp, semi-processed hemp and abaca pulp (all available from Botanical Paper Works—see resource)
4 C-clamps (6")
2 wooden boards, coated with urethane sealant
clothespins

	Figure A
	Figure B

Making Paper: Preparing the Papermaking Area

Before starting to make paper, take time to set up your papermaking area. The following equipment will be needed:

• Couching Pad—Prepare a pad, about 3" in depth, of newspaper, blankets or towels as a bed for your paper making stack. Wet the pad, and place two sheets of kitchen cloths on top. Wet the entire stack. This stack forms the surface onto which you will roll the first sheet of paper.

• Papermaking Vat—Fill the wash basin about two thirds full of tepid water. Holding the mould and deckle set together, perpendicular to the water surface, dip it into the water from the back, and pull to the front and then straight up. Practice doing this in one smooth motion in order to distribute the pulp evenly on the mold.

• Pulp—Tear the pulp into small pieces, 1" x 1" or so. Soak the pulp in tepid water for 1/2 hour to soften (figure A).

  Place a couple of pieces of soaked pulp into the blender, and fill 1/2 full with water. Process pulp with short bursts of the blender . Strain pulp when ready —see shaker test below for a description on how to determine pulp readiness (figure B).

  Select a pulp that suits your particular papermaking project. Recycled fibers are great to work with because they are accessible (just check your recycling bin!) and cheap. Remember, however, that newspaper and office paper do contain many chemicals and will product a weak sheet of paper, difficult to pigment and prone to light damage. If you wish to pigment your paper, select a pure fiber such as cotton, abaca or hemp. These pulp types accept dyes and pigments well and product paper that is strong and long lasting. Choose papermaking pigments to produce paper that is colorfast and lightfast.

Tip: To determine whether the fibers have been sufficiently blended, take a pinch of pulp and place it in a jar of cold water. Shake the jar for one minute and then observe the fibers. If they are evenly distributed in the water, then you are ready to go. If the fibers are clumped, then return the pulp to the blender and continue to blend.

Figure C

Making Paper

• With the material gathered and the equipment set up, you are ready to make paper.

• Place two cups of wet pulp into the vat. Using the whisk, agitate the vat to evenly disperse the pulp and break up any lumps.

• Grip the mold and deckle with the deckle on top. Reach to the back of the vat, pull the mold and deckle through the water, then lift up to break the surface of the water in a continuous motion (figure C).

• Remove the deckle from the mould with care, to avoid dripping on the freshly formed sheet. The thickness of the sheet is determined by the amount of pulp in the water and by how deeply you dip the mould and deckle. To make a thinner sheet, reduce the amount of pulp and modify the depth to which you pull the mould and deckle.

• Using the prepared couching surface, hold the mould in an upright position and rest the frame on the edge of the couching pad closest to you. In a smooth rolling motion, roll the mould onto the couching pad, making contact with the complete surface of the sheet. Continue to roll the mould away from you, with the sheet releasing onto the couching pad. If the sheet does not release easily, place the mould paper-side down on the pad, and sponge away some moisture on the back of the mesh. Rock the mould side-to-side, then try rolling away the mold. Sheets will release more easily once there are a few sheets in the stack.

• Place two damp kitchen cloths on top of the new sheet to prepare for the next sheet.

  Tip: Placing two kitchen cloths between each layer of paper helps you later when you are peeling the sheets off for the dryer, by avoiding the problem of having a sheet of paper stuck on both sides of the cloth. This technique also makes it possible to hang the damp pressed paper on a clothesline.

• To press the paper, place the stack of couched sheets and kitchen cloths between two boards which have been coated with sealer to resist warping. At this point the sheets are 90 percent water. Clamp tightly using large C-clamps, increasing the pressure as the water drains. Press about ten minutes until no more water is being pressed out.

• Undo the clamps on the press. Remove the boards. Lift away the kitchen cloths with a sheet of handmade paper clinging to it and hang on a line to dry. For a smoother sheet, roll the sheet onto glass or iron the sheet until dry. Use the edge of a blunt knife to lift off the edge and remove from the glass.

RESOURCES :

Books by Heidi Reimer-Epp

300 Papermaking Recipes
by Heidi Reimer-Epp and Mary Reimer
ISBN:156477533X
Martingale

The Encyclopedia of Papermaking and Bookbinding
by Heidi Reimer-Epp and Mary Reimer
ISBN: 0762412143
Running Press

Beginner's Guide to Papermaking
by Heidi Reimer-Epp and Mary Reimer
ISBN: 0806993944
Sterling Publishing Co.

GUESTS :

Heidi Reimer-Epp
Botanical PaperWorks
Website: www.botanicalpaperworks.com