Tutorial!
Konnyaku is a natural starch that will give paper the strength for you to sew to make unique gifts, crafts, and art works.
You can find the kit in our shop - it comes with a variety of gorgeous Japanese papers and more than enough starch to mix.
This is a kid-friendly activity, and a perfect gift for crafty friends who love trying new things. I’ve been told by an artist that once she started working with it, she hasn’t been able to put it down!
Here's how to make it:
Making Konnyaku to apply to paper to make it strong, sewable, and scupltable is super easy - First step is mixing it with water, nooo cooking.
You’ll stir it consistently for about 20 mins. You’ll see it change from being watery to a little chunky and then it is all dissolved and becomes a nice gooey paste . Then stir it occasionally for another 2 or 3 hours.
You can store it in the fridge for up to a week. It’s not toxic, but not edible.
All the instructions are in the kit.
Brush on the paste starting from the middle of your paper and brush outwards. This helps make sure you get a nice even spread.
Tuck in the corners so it dries evenly.
Form it into a loose ball and mush it around.
Be sure to follow for part 2 where we make a simple and elegant bookmark.
Turn it over, do it again. The more you mush it and rub the paper against itself, the more the konnyaku starch gets right into the fibers of the paper.
In the kit you have different weights of paper and when you start the agitation process, you’ll get a feel for how tight you should squeeze the ball and how hard to rub it. But the more you do, the stronger and more pliable it will be.
Lay it out to dry and when it is, you’re ready to rock.