Aloe vera can be used to make formation aid.
Strain the soaked aloe vera.
Formation aid is a thick, gelatinous substance derived from plants which is added to the slurry to help suspend the individual fibers in the water so that they do not all sink to the bottom of the container and so they have a better chance to intertwine as you are forming your sheet of paper. The two most accessible sources of formation aid are okra (ladies' fingers) and aloe vera. We had some aloe vera growing on our roof, which you see me collecting at left.
To extract the formation aid from these plants, chop them up and soak them in water. Then, strain the mix through your big strainer. You are left with a suitable formation aid. In the second picture at left, you can see that the liquid that is being separated is very thick. A couple handfuls of aloe is enough for a small project.
You can prepare the formation aid the night before you make paper. This allows for better extraction, and it saves time on your papermaking day. In fact, some sources of formation aid required that you prepare it a day in advance.
Once you have your formation aid ready you can proceed to step 6.