How to Make Hemp Paper
Hemp is a great material for making paper because it is strong and very durable. Also, it is very eco-friendly since it is sustainable and does not require cutting down a forest. Historically, most paper used to be made out of hemp until the mass hysteria surrounding marijuana made hemp illegal in the thirties. However, hemp and marijuana are not the same, and you cannot get intoxicated from hemp. Here's how to make hemp paper.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Blender
- Deckle
- Water
- Newspaper or towels
- 12 oz. of hemp or hemp stems
- Large pot
- Shallow pan
- Rolling pin
- Iron
- Soda ash
Instructions
-
-
1
Purchase hemp from a reputable buyer (see Resources below). Hemp is illegal to grow in the United States because it is from the same family as marijuana. However, it is not illegal to own hemp or hemp products.
-
2
Soak the hemp for 12 to 24 hours in water.
-
-
3
Put the hemp on low heat and add some soda ash. Cook the hemp for about 8 hours. The hemp should still feel tough.
-
4
Put the hemp into a blender for about 2 minutes until it turns fluffy or soft. For a different texture of paper, try adding shredded newspaper or similar soft paper to the mixture. You can also increase or decrease the amount of time you use to blend the materials. You can also choose to add dyes to the mixture.
-
5
Pour the hemp substance (known as slurry) into a shallow pan.
-
6
Scoop your deckle into the bottom of the pan and lift straight up very slowly. Once the deckle is free from the mixture, allow any excess water to drip off before moving to Step 7.
-
7
Flip the deckle paper side down onto a clean towel or newspaper. The paper should come off onto the towel.
-
8
Place another towel on top of the paper. Roll over the towels and paper with a rolling pin to squeeze out any excess moisture.
-
9
When paper is almost dry, iron it using the hottest setting on your iron. This will help finish the drying process and flatten it at the same time.
-
10
If you have excess slurry, you can put it in a plastic bag and freeze it.
-
1
Resources
More Like This
Comments
-
for crying outloud why are we still cutting down forests to make paper? the Gov't? ya, lets get a green thumb going on in our world / Not a BROWN thumb!
