During the First World War, there was an official government edict in Germany instructing citizens to retain usable textiles for the living and bury the countless dead in paper clothes. A paper shirtfront was adjusted on the dead body and fastened on the coffin pillow and the coverlet, which also consisted of wadded paper. Up until the 1960s the use of paper shrouds was common among the poorer population. They were lovingly decorated with patterns associated with the nobility, something that would not have been affordable in cloth. The production of paper linen in Europe was rather modest, but by the end of the nineteenth century, a process was developed to manufacture paper yarn. This industry became important economically during wartime and between the two world wars when other raw materials were in short supply. Although the manufacture of paper yarn is assumed to have begun in the United States, there is evidence that it was developed in 1890 by Dr. Alexander Mitscherlich in Germany. At the turn of the century, the German textile industry was very successful. However because of its lack of raw materials, Germany was almost entirely dependent on imports from abroad. Large quantities of cotton, jute, hemp, and linen were imported from various countries throughout the world. Germany was anxious to develop an alternative raw material, a surrogate, which could be manufactured in Germany. Given these circumstances, paper yarn seemed very promising. Paper Textiles: A Substitue Material in Wartime Europe Christina Leitner 100 % paper fabric by Dora Jung, from 1935, in the collection of the Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland. All photos by and courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted. Paper trousers from 1916–17. Courtesy of Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin. 26 - hand papermaking Europeans were well aware at this time that the Japanese were twisting paper strips into fine weaving yarns to make woven paper fabrics called shifu. The Japanese weaves received a lot of attention at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873. This was the first time they had been seen in Europe, prompting the German university professor Dr. J. J. Rein to take a research trip to Japan. In his comprehensive work, The Industries of Japan published in 1889, Rein gives a detailed description of the Japanese method of producing paper textiles. On the basis of this report, two delegates from the German Embassy visited Japan in 1892 to study the process, and by 1913, there were eight large factories in Germany specializing in paper yarn production for various technical weaves such as bags, straps, saddles, and packaging string. In contrast to Japan's handmade shifu yarn production, the manufacture of paper yarn in Europe started out as an industrial process. The spinning paper was generally short-fibered sulphate or sulphite paper, also known as heavy-duty paper. The cellular structure of the paper was closed (not completely open), which allowed for a very thin, firm, and stable sheet. The weight of the paper was between 15 and 60 grams per square meter. The strength and weight of the paper together with the width of the cut strips determine the thickness of the yarn produced. When the paper yarn industry began in Europe, the development of cellulose yarns was encouraged. In this process, the strips are not cut from the finished paper. Instead the strips were made directly on the paper machine to bypass the cutting stage. Certain devices on the sieve were installed to separate the fibrous mass during the papermaking process itself. Thin bands of cellulose were then twisted into yarn. From 1890, there were many patent applications concerning these manufacturing principals. The patents include Dr. Mitscherlich's method, the Keller paper yarn method, Kron's Sivalin yarn, and Türk and Issenmann´s Cellulon yarn. In 1908, Emil Claviez from Leipzig applied for a papermaking patent for cutting the finished paper into strips and then twisting them. These yarns were previously known as Xylolin yarns or Licella yarns. With this method, the finished paper arrives at the spinning mills from the paper factories in large rolls. The paper cutting machines cut the paper into 15–120 mm wide strips. These bands are wound onto a disk about 30 cm in diameter, and moistened before they are worked further. The twisting process takes place on a spinning machine that Claviez invented for this purpose. The paper disks are put into the machine horizontally and the twisting is started. The paper band is released from the outside edge of the disk onto a spindle where the spinning motion is transferred to the strips. They are twisted into a compact thread that is then wound straight onto the spool. The advantage of this method—despite the increase in steps versus the cellulose yarn production method—is that the spinning paper can be produced on standard paper machines and no expensive equipment is needed. Almost all paper yarns sold today are produced by Claviez's method. Because of the devastating political and economic situation throughout the period of the two world wars, paper yarn became increasingly important for day-to-day living in Europe. Enemy nations issued an export ban to Germany and its allies. Groceries and raw materials became scarce. The conditions were particularly bleak in the textile industry. In addition to the usual production of cloth, textile factories had to meet the increased need for uniforms, blankets, and tents on the front. However, they lacked the necessary textile fiber to make them. From 1915, the search for a possible surrogate began in earnest. A variety of native plants, such as nettle and reed fibers, were examined to determine whether they would be suitable to be made into yarn. The paper yarn industry received more attention at this time, because paper could be produced in large quantities within Germany. New technologies were then developed, making it possible to produce very fine paper yarns for textiles. Clothing and textiles for home use were made from woven paper cloth such as outer and under clothing, nightshirts, underwear, corsets, hats, belts, braces, bags, shoes, and for the home, furniture coverings, woven seats, tapestries, blankets, carpets, table and bed linen, curtains, rugs, and hand towels, among many more items. Military, marine, and administrative uniforms were made from this surrogate material. No less than 600 tons of paper weave were produced per month in Germany between 1915 and 1918. Although the newly developed paper yarn was thin, the quality of the product was relatively low, particularly in terms of comfort and washability. The paper yarn's original characteristics as packaging material never entirely disappeared. The paper weave products were therefore unpopular. By the Second World War there were technical developments to the manufacture of paper yarn. It could now be made watertight and its somewhat dull appearance was improved with various finishing processes. The quality of the yarn was therefore much higher than it had been during the First World War. In 1930 it became possible to manufacture knitwear from paper yarns on machines. For instance, Pextil jersey was made on circular knitting machines. This new, knit paper fabric was softer and stretchier than the earlier stiff weaves and more pleasant to wear next to skin. Despite these technical improvements, people held on to their negative impression of paper cloth. When, after the end of World War II, imported fiber returned to Germany, people quickly turned their backs on the substitute materials and disposed of, or even burnt, their paper cloth items to avoid wartime memories. For this reason, it is rare to come across paper textiles from this period, although those that remain stand as a testament to the ingenuity born from wartime necessity. Editor's note: For more information and a bibliography of references, please see Christina Leitner, Paper Textiles (London: A&C Black Publishers, 2005). A child's shirt made of paper from 1916–17. Courtesy of Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin. A living room with paper textiles, displayed at the Alt Amuri Museum, Tampere, Finland. Corset made of paper fabric, in the collection of the Alt Amuri Museum, Tampere, Finland. Paper fabric designed by Dora Jung, in the collection of the Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland.