Try It Out! - Paper Quilling (Part of Crafting a Creative Summer)

My apologies for the technical difficulties with this topic, a feline who shall remain nameless had a bit of fun demolishing some of my quilling papers in her attempts to help me with my quilling. So cat owners protect your quilling! 🤣

[image consists of various colours of quilling paper]

So what is paper quilling? 

Paper quilling, also known as paper filigree, involves using narrow strips of paper (often 3mm or 5mm wide) to create works of art. These strips of paper are rolled, shaped and glued into various forms, to create a sort of 3D effect. 

While to an extent quilling can be done without the use of any specialized tools, especially with wider strips of paper, there are in fact a variety of specialized quilling tools for the various steps in the process.

The first step in quilling is rolling the strips of paper, you can do this by hand or using any small round object to curl the papers around. But a quilling tool is especially useful. This tool has a narrow post with a slot through it. You simply place the end of your paper just in the slot and begin to rotate the tool curling the paper around the post. My set also has what they call a quilling coach which is essentially a flat surface with a hole through it for the quilling tool that can help you keep your paper aligned so that you can create a flat roll. These tight even roles are great for the next step, shaping.

Shaping your coils of paper involves allowing the roll to expand to a size that fits your design, and pinching, twisting, or adjusting the curve of the paper to create various shapes. These can include teardrops, hearts, leaves and many more. While again this can be done by hand, many quilling kits will include boards for sizing and setting your coils into a specific shape. Some even have a pegboard where you can create your own shapes to use as a guide when shaping.

It’s then time to arrange your paper shapes onto a surface to form a design. You’ll then carefully glue them in place to secure them to the project. Basic white glue is all you need here.There are a few techniques for gluing down the shapes, some will use a precision glue bottle or toothpick to carefully apply glue to the bottom of each coil and then set it in place. Other methods involve applying a thin layer of glue to the design area and laying your shapes into the glue carefully. Here tools like precision tweezers can help.

Simply allow the glue to dry and your quilled creation is complete!

[Image consists of a paper quilled heart]

Quilling is great for making cards, shadowboxes, ornaments, even jewelry if you like. While this artform has been around for centuries, this ability to turn simple paper into artistic filigree has stood the test of time and remains a craft enjoyed by many.

Have you tried paper quilling before? Do you think you will now?
Please share your work with us!

Part of Crafting a Creative Summer