Papermaking Frame A5 – Wooden Frame with Plastic Mesh

A5 Wooden Papermaking Frame – Make Your Own Paper

With this papermaking frame you can make your own sheets of paper in A5 format. The wooden frame has a firm plastic mesh screen and can be used again and again – for art lessons, for crafting with children or for your own greetings cards. Waste paper or pulp turns into sheets with the typical, slightly uneven surface of handmade paper.

How papermaking works

• Make the paper pulp: soak waste paper or pulp in water and break it down
• Pull the sheet: scoop pulp from the water tub with the frame and let it drain
• Couch: lay the wet paper on a felt cloth and press gently
• Press: squeeze out more water with clamps or a press
• Dry: peel the paper off the felt and lay it flat
• Re-press and smooth: press once more before the paper is completely dry and, if needed, smooth it with an iron at the end

Tips for even sheets

Tear the waste paper into small pieces and let it soak thoroughly; it will then break down into a fine pulp more easily. You control the thickness of your paper through the ratio of fibres to water: a thin pulp gives thin sheets, more fibres give thicker paper. Dip the frame in at an angle, bring it level under the water and lift it out straight. A gentle shake spreads the fibres before the water drains away. If you hold the frame at a slant as you lift it out, the pulp collects on one side and the sheet turns out uneven.

For special effects, you can add pressed flowers, grasses or paper scraps in a different colour to the pulp. Rinse the screen after use so that no fibres dry onto it.

Papermaking frame product details

• Material: wooden frame with plastic mesh screen
• Paper size: A5, approx. 21 × 15 cm
• You will also need: water tub, felt cloths, press or clamps (not included)