paper-making

name: paper-making locale: wenyan-ultra source_locale: en source_commit: 82c77053 translator: "Julius Brussee homage — caveman" translation_date: "2026-04-26" description: > Handcraft paper from plant fibres — fibre harvesting, pulping, sheet forming with a mould and deckle, pressing, and drying. Covers fibre sources (cotton, kozo, abaca, recycled paper), beating methods, sizing, and decorative techniques. Use when making handmade paper for art, stationery, or bookbinding, when creating unique textured or embedded paper for special projects, or when learning traditional paper making as a craft practice. license: MIT allowed-tools: Read metadata: author: Philipp Thoss version: "1.0" domain: crafting complexity: intermediate language: natural tags: crafting, paper, fibres, handmade, pulp, mould-and-deckle, art

造紙

由植纖以筌+簾古法手造紙。

用

• 為藝、信、訂書欲手紙
• 已有纖（棉短絨、楮皮、回收紙）
• 欲造特紋或嵌料紙
• 教或學古造紙

入

• 必：纖源（棉短絨、回收紙、楮皮、植桿）
• 必：筌+簾（平篩框+可離頂框）
• 必：缸（足以浸筌之盆/桶）
• 必：水（多）
• 可：攪機（專用、不再食）
• 可：壓板+氈
• 可：施膠（明膠、甲基纖、米澱）
• 可：飾物：花瓣、線、顏、植材以嵌

行

一：備纖

各源各備：

Fibre Sources and Preparation:

RECYCLED PAPER (easiest — start here):
1. Tear paper into 1-inch squares (avoid glossy or heavily printed paper)
2. Soak in water for 2-4 hours (overnight is better)
3. Blend in small batches: handful of soaked paper + 2 cups water
4. Blend until smooth with no visible paper chunks (30-60 seconds)

COTTON LINTERS (archival quality):
1. Tear cotton linter sheets into small pieces
2. Soak overnight in warm water
3. Blend to desired consistency:
   - Short blend (15s) = textured, chunky paper
   - Long blend (60s) = smooth, fine paper

KOZO (Japanese paper — strong, translucent):
1. Strip bark from kozo (paper mulberry) branches
2. Soak in water, then cook in alkaline solution
   (wood ash lye or soda ash) for 2-3 hours until soft
3. Rinse thoroughly to remove alkali
4. Beat by hand with a wooden mallet on a flat stone
   until fibres separate (do not blend — hand beating
   preserves long fibres that give kozo its strength)

PLANT STALKS (experimental — iris, daylily, corn husk):
1. Harvest fibrous stalks after growing season
2. Ret (soak) for 1-2 weeks to soften
3. Cook in alkaline solution for 2-3 hours
4. Rinse and beat by hand
5. Results vary — experiment with fibre length and beating time

得： 備纖之漿、稠如薄燕麥粥。

敗： 漿塊→久攪。漿稀→加纖。稠當薄敷匙背。

二：備缸

立成片之站：

Vat Setup:
1. Fill a vat (plastic tub, basin) with water — deep enough to
   fully submerge the mould (at least 4 inches of water)
2. Add prepared pulp to the vat
3. Stir thoroughly — fibres must be evenly suspended, not clumped
4. Pulp-to-water ratio: approximately 1 part pulp to 10-20 parts water
   - More pulp = thicker paper
   - Less pulp = thinner, more translucent paper
5. Stir before EVERY sheet — fibres settle quickly

Test: dip your hand in the vat. The water should be milky/cloudy
with evenly suspended fibres. If you can see clumps, stir more.

得： 缸中纖均懸、備成片。

敗： 攪後仍塊→纖過長—略攪以短、再懸。

三：成片

筌+簾為造紙之心。

Sheet Forming Protocol:

THE TOOLS:
- Mould: a flat frame with a fine screen (window screen or brass mesh)
- Deckle: a second frame that sits on top of the mould (acts as an edge)
- Together they create a shallow tray that holds the pulp

FORMING:
1. Stir the vat thoroughly
2. Hold the mould screen-side up with the deckle on top, gripping both
3. Dip the mould+deckle into the vat at an angle (far edge first)
4. Level the mould underwater, then lift straight up in one smooth motion
5. As the mould clears the water, shake gently side-to-side and
   front-to-back (2-3 shakes each direction) — this interlocks the fibres
6. Hold level and let water drain through the screen (30-60 seconds)
7. Remove the deckle carefully — lift straight up so water does not
   drip onto the formed sheet

THE SHAKE:
- The side-to-side and front-to-back shakes are critical
- They interlock fibres in both directions, creating strength
- Without shaking, the sheet tears easily in one direction
- Practice on scrap pulp — the shake is the skill that takes longest to learn

THICKNESS CONTROL:
- Thin paper: less pulp in the vat, faster pull-through
- Thick paper: more pulp, slower pull-through
- Even thickness comes from pulling the mould through the vat
  smoothly and leveling before lifting

得： 濕片均坐筌篩、厚均無薄無孔。

敗： 薄處→提時筌不平。一邊厚→排水時傾—練平、滑、定。

四：移、壓、乾

移濕片+去水。

COUCHING (transferring the sheet):
1. Place a damp felt or blanket on a flat surface
2. In one smooth motion, flip the mould face-down onto the felt
3. Press the back of the screen gently with a sponge to release the sheet
4. Lift the mould straight up — the sheet should stay on the felt
5. Place another damp felt on top of the sheet
6. Repeat: form sheet → couch onto felt → cover with felt → form next sheet

Couching stack: felt / sheet / felt / sheet / felt / sheet / felt

PRESSING:
1. Place the couching stack between pressing boards
2. Apply even pressure:
   - Screw press (ideal)
   - Weight (heavy books, concrete blocks — 20+ kg)
   - Stand on it (place boards on floor, step on carefully)
3. Press for 15-30 minutes — water should squeeze out from the sides
4. Replace wet felts with dry ones and press again for best results

DRYING:
Option A — Air dry on boards:
1. Carefully peel each sheet from its felt
2. Place on a smooth board (glass, formica, or MDF)
3. Smooth gently with a damp sponge to remove wrinkles
4. Sheets will dry flat against the board (12-24 hours)
5. Peel gently when dry — edges release first

Option B — Hang dry:
1. Peel sheets from felts and hang on a clothesline with clips
2. Faster drying but produces a wavy, textured surface
3. Suitable for art paper where texture is desired

Option C — Iron dry (fast):
1. Place damp sheet between clean cotton cloths
2. Iron on medium heat until dry (5-10 minutes)
3. Produces a smooth, flat sheet quickly

得： 終片—乾、平（板乾則）、有 deckle 緣+見纖紋。

敗： 移時裂→筌水未足排—久排再翻。乾時皺→壓不嚴或乾面不平。

驗

• 纖備為均無塊之漿
• 各片前缸中纖均懸
• 成片含兩向交鎖之搖
• 片厚均無薄無孔
• 壓除足水乃乾
• 終片乾、全、合用

忌

• 片前不攪：纖數秒即沉—各片前必新攪、否則末片薄稀
• 移時裂：筌水仍多或翻緩—久排+一動定翻
• 厚不均：提排時筌不平—緩練動、求框水平
• 紙脆：纖未足搗（過長過硬）或片太薄—久搗或多漿
• 筌變形：木筌可變—用海級木或封防水。鋁框則無此患

參

• forage-plants