THIS MONTH Paper making
There’s never been a better time to go self-sufficient. In our ongoing series, Sally Coulthard shares tried-and-tested tips from her Yorkshire smallholding
My husband’s aunt was a redoubtable woman. Born just after the war, she was brilliantly frugal, making the most of the things that many of us now throw away without thinking. My fondest memories of her revolve around family Christmases. After the flurry of present opening had finished, she’d spend ahappy hour herding up the spent wrapping paper, carefully peeling off the Sellotape and smoothing the sheets flat, as the rest of us idly watched the Queen’s speech. In my youthful arrogance, I thought it was a pointless task. And yet now, I see that people like her were not only of their time but ahead of it, natural-born recyclers and masters of make-do-and-mend.
Inow do the same. Gift paper is the epitome of one-use wastefulness – it doesn’t seem right to throw it away after one brief use. With this, and other used paper, I make garlands, origami stars, bows and all manner of things. And one of the most satisfying crafts I’ve discovered is making my own recycled paper for cards, wrap and decorations.
The basics of paper making haven’t changed much in nearly two thousand years. Legend has it that in the second century AD, a Chinese man called Cai Lun was watching how wasps made their nests. He was fascinated to see them chew up plants and wood into a pulp, which then dried to a paper-like material. Copying the process by mashing up old bits of rag and plant fibres, which he then sieved and formed into sheets, Cai Lun created the first paper.
Handmade paper is still pretty much made in the same way today. It’s a craft that involves a bit of experimentation and a quick search will reveal plenty of online tutorials. Equipment wise, you need a mould and deckle (the mould is just a wooden frame, the deckle a wooden frame with mesh), a washing-up bowl and a blender. The paper you turn into pulp dictates the colour of the end product – or you can add a splash of food colouring, acrylic paint or natural pigments. Rip old paper into small pieces, soak them briefly and then pop them in a blender. Add more water and whizz until the consistency of a very thick purée. Waxed or glossy paper won’t work and newspapers create a dull, grey pulp, so avoid these.
Pour the pulp purée into the washing-up bowl. Add more water until it’s a thin, soupy consistency. Take the mould and deckle and, in one careful motion, slide it into the liquid vertically and then pull it back out horizontally. This catches a thin layer of pulp on the deckle mesh. Once most of the water has dripped away, take the top mould frame off.
