You can use fiberglass mesh. I had the chicken wire already, so used it. It made the leaf a little "thick" though, trying to cover the wire.
I'm posting a few photos of one of the first leaves I made about 10 years ago. It's been all over, even to Louisiana, where I helped " the girls" at a swap make some a few years ago. It sits outside under a tree all year long, partially buried, and still looks okay (a little neglected and dirty). I didn't clean it up for this quick pic. It has no wire in it, wasn't cured in any special way, just dumb luck, I guess! Notice the veins are still visible after all the years and this one is a little under 2 feet long. It's not very thick either.
Yep, dumb luck!
