Plant

Paper yarn

Narrow paper strips twisted into yarn.

Reviewed 2026-09-22. Evidence level: verified. Open the interactive profile.

Key figures

Traditional strip width (shifu): about 1 to 3 mm
Yarn diameter range: about 200 to 1,600 microns
Dry tenacity: about 5 to 17 cN/tex
Washing shrinkage: about 5% or less
Main washi fibers: kozo, mitsumata, gampi

Approximate values under the stated conditions.

Overview

Narrow paper strips twisted into yarn. The original paper pulp may come from different plants.

Feel and behavior

Light and structured; finish-dependent.

Where you find it

Woven textiles, hats, craft work and specialty cloth.

Source and geography

Paper yarn is made from paper, not from a single plant. The classic Japanese source is washi made from long bast fibers of kozo (paper mulberry, largely the hybrid Broussonetia x kazinoki), mitsumata (Edgeworthia) or gampi (Wikstroemia). Many modern paper yarns are made from wood-pulp papers, for example yarn developed from Swedish forest resources, and research groups have even made yarns from fungal chitin-glucan sheets. Composition therefore depends entirely on the sheet used.

Advantages

Paper yarn fabrics are light, crisp and breathable, which suits hot weather.
Washing shrinkage is low compared with cotton and viscose yarns.
Producers state that paper yarn dries quickly and does not pill.
Yarns can be made from renewable pulps, including abaca and certified wood.

Drawbacks

Paper yarn loses much of its strength when wet, so rough washing can break it.
The hand is stiff at first, and some wearers find it papery.
Unfinished yarns may soften, fuzz or lose shape after washing.
Paper has no EU fiber name, so composition statements on labels vary.

Worth knowing

Oji Fiber states that it produces paper yarn base sheets at least 20,000 m long before slitting them into tapes 1 to 6 mm wide.
Abaca, the Philippine rope fiber, is the raw material of some Japanese washi yarns.

Types, grades and fabrics

Types and grades

Paper yarns are classified by the paper they start from and by tape width and twist. Traditional shifu yarn is hand-cut washi made from kozo, mitsumata or gampi; in Japan, elite paper mulberry strains used for washi have been propagated vegetatively and distributed nationally. Most commercial washi yarn is industrial: Oji Fiber, for example, states that its OJO+ yarn is made from Manila hemp (abaca) pulp formed into a long base sheet, slit into tapes about 1 to 6 mm wide and twisted. Wood-pulp paper yarns are also made, sometimes with finishing agents for knittability and wash stability. Paper yarn is sold as a single twisted tape, plied, or combined with cotton, linen or wool. Tape width, paper grammage and twist set thickness and stiffness.

Fabrics and products

Paper yarn is woven and knitted into summer shirts, jackets, knitwear, hats, bags and accessories, often blended with cotton or linen to soften the hand. In Japan, washi yarn fabrics are marketed for breathable summer clothing. Traditional shifu cloth is woven from hand-twisted washi strips. Paper yarn also makes crisp, structured hats and bags that resemble straw, and it is used in interior textiles. Experimental work has extended the shifu technique to yarns made from fungal sheets.

Buying and care

How to judge quality

Check the label for the paper source (abaca, kozo or wood pulp) and the paper percentage in any blend. Good paper yarn is evenly twisted without flat, untwisted sections, and the fabric should feel crisp but not brittle when crushed in the hand. Ask whether the yarn is finished for wash durability: some modern finished yarns keep most of their strength after repeated washing, while unfinished yarn may soften, fuzz or break. Wash a swatch before committing to a large project. Dye evenness matters, because paper takes dye readily but unevenly if the sheet varies in density.

Care in detail

Follow the label, because finishes vary. Hand wash, or use a delicate cycle in cool water inside a mesh bag, with mild detergent, and do not soak for long, since paper loses much of its strength when wet. Do not wring; press water out in a towel, reshape, and dry flat or on a hanger in shade. Paper yarn dries quickly. Avoid tumble drying and bleach. Iron on a medium setting through a cloth while slightly damp if needed. Hats and bags of paper yarn should be spot cleaned only and kept out of rain. Store garments dry and loosely folded, because sharp creases in paper yarn fabric can become permanent.

Care at a glance

Follow the complete product’s care label. Blends, dyes, finishes and construction can change suitable washing, drying and storage.

Environmental and social footprint

A paper yarn's footprint follows its pulp. Abaca-based washi yarn inherits abaca's smallholder farming profile, kozo-based shifu relies on paper mulberry bast, and wood-pulp yarns depend on forestry and pulping, where FSC or PEFC chain-of-custody certificates can document sourcing. Pulping and papermaking use water, energy and, for bleached papers, oxidizing chemicals, and finishing agents added for wash stability may affect biodegradability. Conventional dyeing of paper yarn can generate colored, salty effluent; a 2024 Carbohydrate Polymers study reported salt-free dyeing with a cationic cellulose nanofiber and chitosan auxiliary, with dye uptake up to 97 percent. Oji Fiber's claims about abaca's carbon dioxide uptake are producer statements, and no independent comparative life cycle assessment against cotton yarn was found.

Tradeoffs

Origin, processing inputs, labor, product construction and useful lifetime all need specific evidence. The name alone does not establish responsible production.

A useful question to ask: What exact material, product form and documented producer stand behind this name?

Science

Data sheet

Property	Value	Conditions	Source
Tenacity	about 7.7 to 10.5 cN/tex	two wood-pulp paper yarns of 42 and 59 tex, before washing	[1]
Elongation at break	about 2.3 to 3.7 %	two wood-pulp paper yarns, before washing	[1]
Yarn linear density	42 to 59 tex	yarns twisted from 3 mm strips of 12 and 18 g/m2 paper	[1]
Strength retained after washing	about 89 to 95 %	after 15 washing or soaping cycles at 30 C	[1]

Cellulose-rich plant material

Seed, stem, leaf or other plant structure. Extraction and preparation vary.

Structure and chemistry

A paper yarn is a twisted or rolled strip of a nonwoven cellulose network: fibers are held together by hydrogen bonding rather than by twist between staple fibers. Rolling or twisting the strip turns it into a roughly round or oval cross-section, and published paper yarns span about 200 to 1,600 microns in diameter. Long bast fibers in washi give stronger, more flexible sheets than short wood fibers. Because the precursor is an engineered sheet, paper yarns show less biological variability than natural staple fibers, but their properties track sheet grammage and fiber quality.

From source to yarn

In shifu, the Japanese handcraft, washi is cut with a sharp knife or blade into strips about 1 to 3 mm wide. The strips are crumpled and slightly moistened to reduce stiffness, then rolled between the fingers or over a rough surface to round them, and spun and twisted while still damp; new strips are added by overlapping their ends and twisting them together, forming a continuous yarn. The yarn is dried and woven. Industrial paper yarn follows the same logic at scale: paper is cut into narrow tapes and twisted, and finishing agents are applied to improve knittability and washing stability.

Performance in use

Paper yarns have tenacity broadly similar to cotton yarns, reported at about 5 to 17 cN/tex dry, but they weaken markedly when wet as water disrupts fiber-to-fiber hydrogen bonds; one commercial yarn fell from about 7.5 to 4.8 cN/tex. Washing shrinkage is low, about 5 percent or less, compared with about 12 to 15 percent for cotton and 19 to 26 percent for viscose yarns in one comparison. Paper yarn fabrics are light, crisp and breathable. Newer finished paper yarns have retained over 89 percent of breaking strength after 15 washes.

How it is identified

Burn tests are indicative only: paper yarn burns like any cellulose, fast with paper smell and gray ash. Untwisting a paper yarn reveals a flat strip of matted fibers rather than parallel staple fibers, which is diagnostic. Microscopy of the strip shows a random fiber network typical of paper, and fiber species (kozo, mitsumata, wood pulp) can be judged from cell morphology and staining. Paper yarn is sometimes confused with raffia or with regenerated cellulose ribbons.

History

Timeline

2019Paper yarn was compared with cotton, viscose and polyester yarns on mechanical properties. [2]
2021Surface treatments were shown to improve the knittability of paper yarn made from Swedish forest resources. [3]
2024Two wood-pulp paper yarns kept about 89 to 95% of their breaking strength after 15 wash cycles. [1]
2024A salt-free dyeing route for paper yarn used a cationic cellulose nanofiber and chitosan auxiliary. [4]
2025Researchers adapted shifu techniques to make experimental fungal paper yarns. [5]

Paper yarn is associated with traditions including Japanese shifu. It transforms an existing sheet into a textile element, showing that fiber and yarn need not follow one route.

The deeper record

Shifu is an old Japanese craft for turning washi into woven cloth, and it experienced a resurgence in popularity for clothing in the twentieth century. Kozo paper itself rests on Broussonetia, whose role in early Chinese papermaking is traditionally credited to Cai Lun. Paper yarns have recently returned as sustainable fashion materials, including knittable paper yarn developed from Swedish forest resources, wash-stable paper yarns tested for clothing fabrics, and experimental fungal yarns made with shifu techniques.

Labeling and law

Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 has no Annex I entry for paper as a fibre name, so the correct declaration for paper yarn, for example naming the constituent cellulose or using other fibres, should be checked with the competent authority or a testing laboratory. In the US, covered textiles must disclose fiber content under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (15 U.S.C. 70 et seq.) and 16 CFR Part 303. Certification claims for the paper source, such as FSC or PEFC chain of custody, should be backed by certificates from the supplier.

This describes what rules and standards cover. It is not legal advice; jurisdiction, product form and current rule text control.

Frequently asked

Can clothes made of paper yarn be washed?

Usually yes, gently. Paper yarn weakens markedly when wet because water disrupts the hydrogen bonds between its fibers, so hand washing or a delicate cycle, no wringing and flat drying are safest. Finished yarns tested for clothing have kept most of their strength after repeated washes.

What is shifu?

Shifu is a Japanese craft of weaving cloth from yarn made of washi. The paper is cut into narrow strips, rolled and twisted while damp, and woven. It enjoyed a twentieth-century revival for clothing and has inspired recent paper yarn research, including yarns made from fungal sheets.

Is washi yarn made from traditional Japanese paper?

Sometimes, but not always. Traditional washi uses kozo, mitsumata or gampi bast fibers, while many commercial washi yarns use industrially made paper from abaca pulp; Oji Fiber describes its OJO+ yarn as Manila hemp paper yarn. Ask the seller which pulp is used.

Sources

Cite this page

Chaos. (2026). Paper yarn. In Fibers of Earth: An independent textile atlas. https://www.hendrickresearch.com/fibers/materials/paper-yarn/