Daniel Whitfield
Why make paper without a blender?
Blenders are noisy, they leave you scraping pulp out of the jug for a fortnight, and they chop fibres so short that the finished sheets come out flat, grey and oddly lifeless. The soak-and-tear method does the opposite. It leaves the fibres long, which means stronger sheets, a proper texture you can feel under your fingertips, and a naturally deckled edge that looks deliberate rather than ragged. Best of all, it needs no electricity, very little equipment, and can be done in a small kitchen in batches that fit neatly on the draining board.
If you are a printmaker, this matters. Handmade paper takes a lino or relief impression with real character — the uneven surface catches ink in ways that smooth cartridge paper never will. It is also a lovely way to use up the offcuts, failed proofs and scrap that every studio accumulates.
What you'll need
- Scrap paper: office waste, envelopes with the windows removed, brown paper bags, old letters, sugar paper and parcel paper. Avoid glossy magazines, thermal receipts and anything laminated — they will not break down properly.
- A bucket or washing-up bowl, plus a second bowl for the pulp vat.
- Warm water. No need for anything fancy.
- An old wooden picture frame, roughly A5 or A4, with glass and backing removed. Stretch plastic garden mesh or a square of net curtain across it and fix it tightly with a staple gun or duct tape. This is your mould.
- A deep tray — a roasting tin is ideal — wider than your frame.
- Absorbent cloths: old cotton tea towels, muslin squares, microfibre cloths or a cut-up sheet.
- Two wooden boards (chopping boards work well) and something heavy: books, tins, a bag of rice.
- Optional: a teaspoon of PVA or a spoonful of cooked cornflour paste for sizing, and dried petals or threads for decoration.
Step one: sorting, tearing and soaking
Sort your paper first. Remove staples, plastic, tape and any shiny coating. Now tear it into pieces roughly two to three centimetres across. Tear by hand rather than cutting with scissors — tearing breaks the fibres at different points along the edge, which gives the water somewhere to get in. Scissors shear cleanly through and leave a sealed edge that resists soaking.
Put the torn paper in your bucket and cover with warm water, roughly three parts water to one part paper. Leave it for at least four hours, ideally overnight. It should look soft and slightly sludgy when it is ready. If you are impatient, pour boiling water over the paper and leave it for an hour, or add a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda to the soak — it gently softens the fibres.
One trick worth knowing: freeze the soaked paper overnight, then let it thaw. The ice crystals rupture the fibre walls and you will find the pulp breaks down with half the effort.
Step two: making pulp by hand
Drain the soaked paper and start working it. Squeeze handfuls through your fingers, knead it like bread dough, or pound it with a potato masher in a bowl. A wooden spoon beaten through the mixture works too. Expect ten to fifteen minutes of this, and do not worry about looking elegant — it is a messy job.
You are aiming for a consistency like porridge, with no visible flakes of paper left. To test it, drop a small spoonful into a jug of clean water. Good pulp disperses into a cloudy, even soup. If it clumps or you can still see shapes, keep going. When in doubt, beat for longer — the difference between mediocre and excellent sheets is almost always time.
Step three: pulling your first sheet
Fill your tray about two-thirds full of water and add a couple of generous handfuls of pulp. Stir it with your hand until it is evenly suspended.
Slide your mesh frame into the water at an angle, then bring it flat and lift it straight up. You want an even layer of pulp across the mesh. Gently shake the frame side to side and front to back while it drains — this interlaces the fibres and makes the sheet stronger. Let the water drip away for a minute or so.
Couching, pressing and drying
Lay a damp cloth flat on one of your boards. Turn the frame face down onto the cloth and press firmly on the back of the mesh with a sponge. Lift the frame away slowly — the sheet should stay on the cloth. This is called couching, and it gets easier with practice.
Build a stack: cloth, sheet, cloth, sheet. Top it with the second board and something heavy, and leave it for twenty to thirty minutes. Change the wettest cloths, then press again for another half hour. Finally, dry your sheets between dry cloths under weight overnight, or peg them on a line, or iron them gently between tea towels on a low setting.
For printmaking, add a teaspoon of PVA or a little cooked cornflour paste to the pulp vat before pulling your sheets. Unsized paper drinks ink and blurs fine detail; sized paper holds a clean, crisp impression. Leave unsized sheets for drawing, blotting, cards and gift tags, and try pressing petals, threads or dried leaves into the surface while the sheet is still wet.
