Handmade Paper Processes

Making Mold and Deckle

The mold is used like a sieve to pick up the paper fibers that are floating around in a tub or vat of water and the deckle is a frame used to form paper pulp into sheets.

• Take four 10"pieces and four 8" pieces of wood with the thickness 1/2" * 1/2".
• Arrange two pieces of 10" and two pieces of 8" in a rectangle and glue them together.
• After the glue is dried hammer 2 nails at each corner.
• Take the remaining pieces of two 10" and two 8" pieces of wood and repeat the same to make a frame.
• Paint both the frames with varnish to seal the wood.
• Take a nylon netting of 10" to 12" and wet the netting.
• To one of the frame staple the netting making sure that the netting is taut and allows it to dry.
• Later remove the extra netting. This makes the deckle.
• The frame without the netting is the mold.

Making of Pulp

• Take the plant fibers or wood fibers and blend them properly in a blender.
• The fibers can also be treated chemically with acidic or basic liquors.
• Pour the pulp into a rectangular plastic tray with 2 inches of water.
• The amount of pulp in the water will determine the thickness of the sheet of the paper.

Making a Sheet of Paper

• Stir the pulp in a tub so that the fibers float on the top.
• Hold the mold and deckle together placing the deckle on the top.
• Slip the mold and deckle into the pulp pulling the pulp out of the liquid.
• Let the water drain off from net.
• Allow the fibers to settle and mesh together.
• Take the deckle off the mold.
• Put one edge of the sheet of paper on a cloth and gently press the paper onto the felt. This is called couching.
• Sponge off excess water.
• Press between laminated boards for the sheet to stay flat.