I have posted about my daylily leaf papermaking, and perhaps that was putting the cart before the horse a bit, since I had not yet described how I made the mould and deckle commonly used to make any kind of paper. Of course, one can purchase many lovely ready-made moulds and deckles, but I just had to make my own.
I tried to write a detailed post about how I built mine, but I realized I was actually making it sound more complicated than it really is. After all, a mould and deckle is only two identically sized frames, one of which has screening tacked to it.
So rather than the bewildering tutorial I was working on, here are a few photos and my vote of confidence that you can figure out how to do this on your own.
I used 1″ x 2″ poplar stock lumber and made mine with an interior dimension of 8 1/2″ x 11″.
It is not necessary to use mitered corners for your frames. Butt joints will work just fine.
The corner clamps were indispensable.
They are finished with 3 coats of spar urethane and I used vinyl dog-resistant screening for the mesh. I don’t know that this is a particularly good type of mesh–it is just what I already had on hand.
Usually, brass screening is recommended. Also, don’t do what I did and tack on the mesh before you apply the varnish. Varnish everything and let it all dry completely, then tack on the mesh.
Here are some resources which may be helpful:
www.pulpromances.com/screen.pdf
Tomato Lady
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Oooh, thank you for posting this! I make my own cards and have wanted to try making my own paper. Had no idea about making a frame. Thank you!
Paper making is on my long list of projects I’d like to try. Thanks for such great instructions.
Gotcha for the MIFS carnival tomorrow. Would love a link! Thanks!
Thanks for posting the pictures. I’ve made paper but without the screening it’s never been very useful… just thick.
Now I feel like I should give it another try.
Y’all have to give it a try. If I can do it anybody can.