How To Make Paper At Home (Without Mould & Deckle)

Step 1: Prepare paper

To make new paper sheets at home you need to cut or rip your old paper into small pieces and put them in a pot or a bowl. The smaller the pieces the easier it will be to blend them (especially if you don’t want to use a blender).

You can use all kinds of old paper you want to recycle. (Don’t use new unused paper. That would only defeat the purpose of this process!) If the majority of the paper you use is very colorful, your self-made paper won’t turn out very white so keep that in mind if you want light paper.

Step 2: Add Water

Pour hot water over the paper scraps until everything is covered. Now mix it all together with a fork or a spoon. You don’t have to heat up the water but hot water will make the paper scraps soft quicker.

The amount of water you use depends on how thick you want the paper to be. If you use too little water the paper will be too thick and if you use too much water it will be too thin. You kind of have to experiment a little. 

Leave the mixture to sit for a few hours so the paper can get softer. If you don’t have a blender leave it overnight or even longer. Mix it every now and then.

Step 3: Blend it

If the paper has gotten really soft it’s time to blend it all together. Using a blender is the easiest and fastest way to make a nice paper pulp. Blend it until there are no more big paper pieces. You might have to add a bit more water if the pulp is getting too thick.

If you don’t have a blender or don’t want to use one you can use your hands, a grinder or even a fork to grind everything into a pulp. It will take quite a long time to create a fine pulp without a blender.

The finer the pulp the finer your paper will be. If you want it to be really fine you won’t get around using a blender.

Now that you have your paper pulp it’s time to make some paper. 

Step 4: Prepare Paper Container

Secure your old piece of fabric tightly over a container. I used the lid of an old metal box because the sides are not very high which made the whole process a bit easier. You could also use a flat plate, a plastic box or whatever else you might have at home.

Step 5: Add Pulp

Now put some of the paper pulp on your fabric and spread it out evenly. Make sure it’s not too thick or you will end up with really thick and stiff paper. Also make sure there are no empty spaces when spreading it.

Step 6: Cover it

For the next step carefully press a dish towel or another old piece of fabric on the wet paper scraps so that everything is covered.

Step 7: Soak up excess water

Use a sponge or a rag and soak up the water through the dish towel until there’s no more water to soak up.

Step 8: Remove Towel

Now you can carefully remove the dish towel. The paper underneath should be flat and even now.

Step 9: Let it dry

Leave it like this to dry for a day or two. Don’t remove the fabric with the paper from the container or you risk your paper sheet to fall apart.

Final Step: Remove paper

Once the paper feels dry to the touch you can remove it from the fabric. Peel it off slowly and there you have your paper sheet.

If you have some leftover paper pulp just repeat steps 4 to 9 to make more sheets.

Extra: Add Color

If you want to add some color to your paper just add colorful paper scraps to your pulp and mix it until the color of the pulp has changed.

You could also use food coloring.

If you want you could also add dried flowers or leaves to the pulp to create some extra details.

Experiment and have fun making paper at home!