How are paper made with plants? Paper can be made with natural fibres whether it is plants or a material that comes from plants like 100% cotton fabric. Learn how are paper made with plants below!
How are paper made with plants - the process
When making paper with plants the fibres of the plants need to be weakened. Naturally a plant has strong fibres and has a lot of strength.
The paper above is made with milkweed seeds as part of my OAC grant in 2022.
How are paper made with plants
How are paper made with plants - Harvesting
There are a lot of books and online resources to explain how to make paper with plants. First of all, you need to decide what plants you want to use to make paper. You can begin by harvesting or collecting those plants. Different parts of the plant will make different kinds of paper like different types of plants will make different types of paper.
For example, you can make paper with leaves, stems, seeds, or buds/flowers of the plant and they will all form different types of paper.
The paper above is made with flax as part of my OAC grant in 2022.
It’s always good to collect lots of plants. You want to collect at least ¾ of a pound of that same part of the plant. You don’t want to mix different parts of the plant together because they are all going to take different times to weaken. For instance, a stem is stronger than a leaf so it is going to take longer for that fibre to weaken so it will be soft enough to make a sheet of paper.
How are paper made with plants - Cooking
Next you will want to begin researching to determine how long you will want to cook/boil the plant so that you can weaken the plant fibres. You will need a large pot and you will want to use a different pot then the one you use to cook your meals. You can find lots of large pots at the thrift store.
You will also need a long spoon to stir the plant. You can keep checking it every 20-30 minutes to see if the plant is getting softer. You want the plant to begin to break apart.
The paper above is made with stems from milkweed as part of my OAC grant in 2022.
How are paper made with plants - Blending/Beating the Pulp
After the plant has been cooking and is soft you can transfer the mixture to be able to blend it or beat the pulp. Certain pulp could be mixed in a blender, a hollander beater or with a Jiffy Mixer. Some pulp-like stems that are a bit tougher or woody could be beaten with a hand paddle to create the pulp. You want to mix/blend/chop the pulp into small pieces so that they can come together like puzzle pieces when you form your sheet of paper.
How are paper made with plants - Forming the Sheet
Once you have your plant pulp ready to go you can pour it into a vat which is a large container of water. You will also need a mould and deckle to make your paper. Begin pouring in about 250mL of the pulp into your vat. Stir the pulp so that it floats and doesn’t settle at the bottom of the vat. Scoop your mould and deckle by skimming the surface of the water and collecting the pulp. You will have to practice with this.
Then remove the frame and press the pulp off the screen and onto some sheets of felt. Separate each sheet of paper with a sheet of felt and repeat the process.
How are paper made with plants - Pressing and Drying
Once you have your stack of papers you will need to press the water out of the pages. You can use a paper press or squeeze the water out with pressure.
You can then place the paper in a drying rack by carefully peeling the paper off the felt. The paper will need to dry for 24 hours.
Now you know how are paper made with plants and you can begin harvesting and experiments with different types of plants to make your own paper!
You can see more of my handmade paper here!