Decorative tissue paper is a sheer, delicate paper with a cloth like feel, which may make it difficult to cut without tearing, fraying, snagging, or bending. Although it is possible to achieve a clean cut on tissue, it must be done carefully and with a very sharp blade. See below:
You can cut tissue with one of three tools, provided the tool has a very sharp blade to prevent fraying.
1 – Paper Trimmer
With a paper trimmer such as the one shown below, the blade gets guided evenly through the tissue to cut a straight, even line. If you are using a paper trimmer to cut tissue, be sure to place pressure on the blade as you guide it along, as well as hold the tissue firmly in place with the other hand to prevent snagging. With a small paper trimmer such as this, it is recommended you cut just one piece of tissue at a time.
2 – Paper Cutter
A larger paper cutter like the one shown below will allow you to cut multiple pieces of tissue at a time (amount depending on size of paper cutter blade). With this tool, the blade arm comes down to slice the tissue evenly. To prevent the delicate tissue from bending, it is recommended that you first encase the tissue sheets in cardboard or heavy cardstock prior to cutting. See below:
3 – Scissors
Last, you can cut tissue with very sharp scissors. This comes in handy if you are cutting the tissue into shapes other than squares and rectangles. If you have ever cut fabric, you will be familiar with how this works. Simply keep the tissue and your hand as steady as possible and be sure to open and close the scissors fully, rather than dragging them through the tissue. Again, if you want to cut multiple sheets of tissue at a time, you can encase them in a cardboard or cardstock to prevent bending.
Hi, Can japanese tissue paper be folded continually like in a fan that opens and closes without tearing eventually?
Hi Ara,
Like all Japanese paper, Japanese tissue paper is quite durable. It would withstand continuous folding, though where it has a thin, almost cloth-like feel, I don’t believe it would be able to retain a fan shape.
Hi. I’m having problems cutting the pearlized japanese paper with a paper trimmer similar to one shown in number 1. Is there anything I can do to get a clean edge? The trimmer itself is pretty new and still seems sharp. Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
I have found two ways to remedy “paper snag” when using a paper trimmer.
1) You can try applying pressure to the blade and rail and running it along the paper faster.
2) You can place a piece of cardboard or cardstock over the paper, however, just keep in mind that this will dull your blade faster.
Although your blade is fairly new, it might need to be changed, depending on what you cut with it previously. Unfortunately the blades on paper trimmers do not seem to last very long in my experience!