Does anyone know how to make handmade paper out of cloth?

[mamamoo]

I saw this on Mr. Rodgers(don't laugh), and was wondering if anyone knows how to do it on a small, at home scale. I have tons of old clothes that are beyond donation or wearing, and would love to use the fibers to make paper. I know it CAN be done, but just need directions.
TIA
Debi

[pumpkin]

I’ve made handmade paper out of scrap paper and some purchased fiber. I didn’t work with cloth because I was not prepared to deal with the pulping.

The trick is to get your source fibers mashed up into a nice gooey pulp. It should be slightly runny but not too runny. Sort of like tapioca with some nice big lumps. I used a blender to mix up shredded paper and water. Everything I saw on using cloth required more than my cheap discount store blender could handle. Not sure what exactly would be required.

After you’ve got a pulp created the papermaking process is pretty easy. You’ll need a frame and screen, something to lay the sheets of paper on (I used old fashioned interfacing, not the fusible kind) and a press. I used two pieces of plywood and some C clamps. You put some of your pulp into a big container of water. Dip your screen/frame combo and lift it out. The pulp settles on the screen and the water drips through. When you get the hang of it you can start adding cool things like flower petals to the water as weel. It takes a little practice but I managed to make 100 handmade wedding invitations with this technique.


Good luck

[mamamoo]

Wow! Thanks so much! I guess it's a trip to the library for me!