Glossary
Short definitions for the words these guides use. The first mention of a term in an article links here, up to five links on a page.
B
- beating
Working fibre in water so the strands fray and bond as they dry. A Hollander beater is built for this. A kitchen blender only chops and hydrates fibre. It is not the same as beating.
C
- cockling
Waves or puckers in a dry sheet, usually from uneven shrinkage as the water leaves.
- couching
Lifting the fresh sheet off the mould and laying it onto a felt or other cloth. Pronounced COOCH-ing.
D
- deckle
The open frame that sits on the mould, keeps the pulp on the screen, and forms the edge of the sheet.
F
- felt
The cloth that catches the sheet when you couch. Wool is traditional. Many home batches use a synthetic felt or another cloth for the same job.
- floc
A clump of fibre that did not separate in the vat. Flocs show up as lumps or clouds in the sheet.
- formation
How evenly the fibres are spread through the sheet. Hold the sheet to the light to judge it.
I
- interfacing
Non-woven sewing fabric used as a couching surface when you do not have wool felts.
L
- linters
Short cotton fibres taken from the cotton seed after ginning. They are sold as dry sheets or as pulp for papermaking.
M
- mould
The frame and its screen. You dip it into the vat and lift a layer of pulp to form a sheet. This site spells it mould.
P
- post
The stack of fresh sheets and felts, layered one after another, that goes into the press.
- pulp
Fibre dispersed in water, ready to form a sheet.
R
- restraint drying
Drying a sheet while it is held flat, so it cannot shrink freely. Boards, a press, or a rack can supply the restraint.
S
- sizing
A material that slows how fast water and ink soak in. Internal sizing is mixed into the pulp. External sizing goes on the finished sheet.
V
- vat
The tub of diluted pulp you pull sheets from.
W
- waterleaf
Paper with no sizing. Water and ink soak in quickly.