Papermaking: An ancient art and a modern craft

I don't know about you, but when I am assessing a new possible craft or hobby, I like to evaluate it in terms of its post-apocalypse usefulness. After the zombies destroy humanity, is anyone going to care about decoupage? No. But we will still want paper to write on, particularly once the power goes out for good. Thus, papermaking is a valuable skill for the possible future, as well as being a fun thing to do today.

Papermaking also has the weight of thousands of years of human history behind it, which is nice. Computers and iPads are awesome, but paper is important.

The basics of making paper are simple. You create a pulp, shape it into a flat sheet, then let it dry. The most common way to make paper today uses a mold constructed of a rectangular wooden frame holding a sheet of fine mesh. You dip this frame into a big tub of your pulp. When you lift out the frame it scoops up a thin sheet of pulp on the mesh, which strains out the extra water.

There are millions of different options for the paper you can create, from funky and silly to formal and museum quality. You can recycle existing paper, use a custom blend of virgin fibers, add dyes and include interesting bits of natural fibers and plant material, or go wild with additions like glitter, colorful beads and flowers.

Like most crafts, papermaking can be as expensive as you want it to be. At the most basic level, you can get by with a list of items you probably have around the house (like a large plastic storage tub, a blender, and a sponge) plus a papermaking screen and deckle which you can often find for cheap at Walmart or a big box craft store.

Image courtesy Flickr/nuanc