Top tips: Calligraphy on handmade paper
Calligraphy place cards on floral handmade paper
Handmade paper is truly a treat for us stationery lovers. Its stunning colours and textured look makes it very appealing and sets it apart from ordinary paper. You may or may not have noticed but I recently started using handmade paper for some of my products. Whilst it adds a really special element to your pieces, it can also be challenging to work it at first. I am going to share with you some lessons that I learned after writing on handmade paper.
Best practices for writing on handmade paper:
1) ALWAYS prepare or ‘fix’ your paper
If there’s one thing that I’d like you to get from this article, is the importance of fixing your paper. Handmade paper has a very different composition from regular paper so ink has a tendency to ‘bleed’ through the fibres. The texture also makes it so that these fibres snag on your calligraphy nib, leading to a very unpleasant writing experience. This can be easily resolved by applying a fixative. There are multiple artists’ fixatives that you can purchase but HAIRSPRAY works just as well. Yes you read that right! I learnt this in a class from Kestrel @inkmethis and it has truly been such an awesome tip. My go to hairspray is the ‘Ultra Strong Hold’ one from Pantene because it is quite inexpensive and readily available. Any hairspray could work though!!!
Feathering ink due to not properly fixing handmade paper
2) Allow your fixative to FULLY dry before writing
I know this seems very obvious but I was in such a rush with one of my pieces that I did not realize that the hairspray did not fully dry. This compromised the integrity of the paper but luckily it was only a tiny spot so I was able to save the piece! If you’re very cautious, apply a second layer of fixative and allow that to fully dry again.
3) LIGHTNESS of touch and SLOW writing speed are essential
I know many of us calligraphers struggled with a ‘heavy hand’ at some point. Maybe you have rectified it by now but this writing surface calls for a super light hand. Even your downstrokes have to be less weighted than usual. It should feel as if you are gliding along the paper because if you press too deeply, your nib would probably get caught in its fibres or the ink might feather. Additionally, a slow careful writing speed is also essentially. Move to quickly and the ink may not deposit onto the surface or your nib would again snag!!
Bridesmaid proposal cards by Quills and Blooms
4) Some nibs are superior
Sometimes you have to put your favourite nib aside. I tried using my go to nib (the Hunt 22B) at first. It worked and I was able to create a place card but it was very uncomfortable! This was because it has a sharper tip so it kept snagging on the paper and the hairlines were not my preferred thickness. Since then, I have found that the HIRO Leonardt 41 CROWN NIB works best for me with handmade paper!! Why? Well the nib is not very sharp so it reduces the tendency of the nib getting caught on fibres which makes for a smoother writing experience. The G nibs (e.g. NIKKO G) are another strong contender. I am just biased towards the crown nib because it provides an awesome writing experience. Seriously, it’s competing with my Hunt 22B for the title of ‘Malika’s favourite nib’. You really need to try it, these are my selling points: “The Hiro 41 Crown Nib is light, smooth and aesthetically pleasing!! What more could you want?” Now Manuscript should make me a nib ambassador.
5) Most inks work once you have the correct INK CONSISTENCY
So far, I have tried all of my usual inks and there have been zero issues. I just ensure that the paper is properly fixed and I follow the aforementioned suggestions. You may have to adjust the consistency which is usually the case with calligraphy inks. Remember, if your ink is too watery, you can add Gum Arabic or if you don’t have any (like me) just pour some of your ink into your glass jar and leave it open for a while. Let nature take it’s course and allow evaporation to occur. On the other hand, if your ink is too thick, just add a bit of clean water. Be careful as you do not want to add too much water. I typically use a pipette so that I can add a few drops at a time.
6) Your X-ACTO knife is your new best friend
When you need to correct calligraphy mistakes, simply allow your ink to fully dry and then use your X-acto/ exacto blade to gently scrape off the ink. Most calligraphers then use a Tombow MONO sand eraser to remove any ink residue. Personally I skip this last step or sometimes I use my regular Staedler eraser. This method could be used on regular paper and it is perfect for handmade paper as the natural texture hides any irregularities that may appear. You can then apply your hairspray to smooth the area, allow it to fully dry and keep writing.
X-acto knife
Now that you are equipped with these suggestions, I hope that you feel more comfortable using handmade paper. If you are looking to purchase a few sheets, these are some great vendors that I have either heard of or bought from: Beasties Botanicals, Inquisited, Lavender Green Books and Indian Cotton Paper Co to name a few but there are many other incredible vendors so I encourage you to search as well.
Go forth and produce beautiful work! Happy writing!
Feel free to message me on Instagram or email me with any question. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter which is filled with curated art content and general tips. Check out my previous newsletters to see if it’s right for you!
Latest posts
