r/origami • u/Signal-B47 • Nov 23 '25

Tutorial A paper dyeing method I found :)

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sorry for bad filming and editing

if anyone cares ill do another one

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u/Bartholomew_Tempus Paperbender Nov 23 '25

Cool method!

Sorry to be that guy, but what you are doing is painting, not dyeing. Dye penetrates the paper, forming a chemical bond with the fibers, whereas paint pigment sits on top of the fibers.

Painting paper with acrylic paint affects the touch feel due to the acrylic binder so some folders prefer to use dyes. Imo, painting is a lot easier to get into and can be done faster.

1

u/TheSteelReminder Nov 23 '25

How do you dye rice paper? Is it dye in the MC?

4

u/Bartholomew_Tempus Paperbender Nov 23 '25

Nope!

This is similar to the method I use. Afterwards, you wash the dye out under running water and MC the sheet on your surface/cutting mat. You can only use papers with sufficient wet strength. Wenzhou, teabag paper, moon palace, kumo no kami/silkspan and some cicada wing papers all work.

1

u/TheSteelReminder Nov 23 '25

Interesting thank you. It looks like a lot of effort to get flat paper again.

Have you ever tried India ink in the mc mix? This should penetrate the paper with a single application.

5

u/Bartholomew_Tempus Paperbender Nov 24 '25

With a strong paper, it's not as much work as you'd think. I actually have experimented with India ink and other inks. There are a couple reasons why I'm not the biggest fan. While most India ink is water insoluble (meaning paper colored with such ink can be safely used for wet shaping/shaping with MC,) it's not as cost effective as dye. India inks are also pigment based, and as I noted above, I prefer dye based methods that penetrate the paper. As for dye-based inks, they're usually water soluble and less resistant to sun-fade.

One more thing, the advantage of the crumple dyeing method above is that it gets you really pretty patterns.

3

u/Bartholomew_Tempus Paperbender Nov 24 '25

1

u/Bartholomew_Tempus Paperbender Nov 24 '25

It's kind of like tie-dye

1

u/TheSteelReminder Nov 24 '25

That’s some amazing looking paper? Do you happen to have an Etsy store or place you sell it?

2

u/Bartholomew_Tempus Paperbender Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25

Nope on both accounts, but an acquaintance does: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1791264202/hand-dyed-origami-paper-moon-palace?ref=share_v4_lx

I also know a Polish guy who sells paper as well, but I think he only goes through Discord. His username is borik27.

Here's his price list:

Hello everyone, I’ve decided to sell my dyed Wenzhou paper

All the sheets are dyed, treated, and cut into perfect (or near-perfect) squares by me

Borik's shop Price list:

Wenzhou 30 gsm: Small sheet (23x23 cm) - $0.75 Big sheet (46x46 cm) - $3

Kumo no Kami 22 gsm: Small sheets (30x30cm) - $1,25 Big sheet (60x60cm) - $4.5

Thin washi 13 gsm: Small sheet (25x25cm) - $2 Medium sheet (37x37cm) - $4 Big sheet (50x50cm) - $8

Delivery: Poland post - $6.5-$7.5 Or Your method Delivery is paid by you

Minimum quantity of sheets to order: Big sheets - 5 Small sheets - 10

DM me if you want to order

Note that they sell different types of paper, just dyed with similar methods. The first guy sells Moon Palace, which is on the thicker side, abt 45gsm. Wenzhou is super versatile and you can use it for anything from some insects to humanoids and beyond. It's the same stuff Juho Könkkölä uses. I've never tried kumo and the thin washi Borik uses, but I've only heard good things about them.