Experiments were made with a laboratory apparatus for forming paper sheets into double‐curved structures. The purpose was to learn more about the design criteria for forming of paper materials into complex shapes. The influence of forming parameters such as moisture and temperature was studied, and the performance of some common pulps as raw materials for the paper sheets was evaluated. Papers made from short hardwood fibres performed worse than papers from other pulps, and the method of moisture application was more important than the amount of moisture that was applied. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.