Materials Required:
- Stretcher bars (any two sizes or just one size to make square paper. The bigger the stretchers bars the bigger your final paper will be.) If two sizes are chosen you will need four bars of each size to create two frames.
- Alternative: if you cannot get stretcher bars, two identical old frames will work as well without the glass
- Mallet
- Staple gun
- Fiberglass or window screening material
- Weatherstrip foam tape
All the materials above can be purchased at Canadian Tire or Home Depot with the exception of stretcher bars.
- For my deckle I chose 8” and 11” stretcher bars. Start by getting two bars of the 8” stretcher and two bars of the 11” stretcher. Use the mallet and hammer the bars together to create a frame. Repeat this process for the remaining 8” and 11” stretcher bars to create the second frame. After both frames have been assembled one side of the frame should have a lip and a slight slant while the other side of the frame should be flat. For security, use the staple gun and staple two staples where each of the joinery is between the 8” and 11” stretcher bars.
- Cut the screening material slightly larger than the frame with a little hanging over the edge to wrap around the edges of the frame. Make sure the screen is sitting on the flat side of the frame and not the side with the lip and the slant. Begin by stapling the center of the sides of the frame. Pull tightly on the screen before stapling the other side. Treat it as though you are stretching canvas around stretcher bars. Repeat this process all around by stapling and tugging. Fold the corners of the screen neatly and staple them down. The screen should sound like a drum in the middle when the screen material is tightly wrapped around the bars.
- Grab the second frame, using the flat side not the side with the lip, cut strips of the weatherstrip foam tape and stick it around the inner opening of the frame.
Finished deckle:
