Quilling Information - Techniques, Designs & Ideas

Quilling or paper filigree is the art of rolling thin strips of paper into different shapes and using the shapes to form designs. Quilling has been around since the Renaissance age, but I was only recently introduced to it. It is fun and easy and I find it to be pretty relaxing. I hope this introduction to Quilling will spark an interest, and start you imagination flowing. Tools The tools needed for this craft are very basic. Paper strips, something to wind the strips around and glue are basically all you need to get started. Paper comes in many different weights. You select the weight according to what you want your finished design to look like. The strips of paper are usually cut anywhere from 1/8" to 1" wide with 1/8" being the standard. In the examples I used ordinary construction paper cut into 1/8" strips. I used a toothpick to wind the coils, but some prefer needles, pins, hat pins or some specially designed tools for quilling. Ordinary clear-drying white glue is good for most projects. If you are using a paper that has been sprayed with metallic paint, a heavier clear-drying glue may be used. Other tools that may be helpful Scissors for cutting the strips of paper, although you can purchase pre-cut strips of paper for quilling in some craft stores. A small plastic cap or plastic bottle to hold a few drops of glue so the rest of the bottle won't dry out. A ruler is used to achieve uniformity in the size of the pieces. You can use a piece of corrugated cardboard covered with waxed paper as a work board. A pattern can be slipped between the cardboard and the wax paper and if glue gets onto the wax paper it can easily be peeled off. Another alternative is styrofoam covered with plastic wrap. Tweezers and a muffin tin are good to have handy for organizing by different size or shape and the tweezers will help you pick up or place the smaller pieces into position. A damp sponge or washcloth is helpful to keep your fingers free of glue and to moisten the strip when you start a coil.

Basic Shapes
"V" Shape Fold the strip in half and roll the ends on the outside of the paper, away from the inner crease.

Feelers Roll only a small part of the paper strip, leaving the rest of the strip straight. Feelers can be made with the strip folded in half as in this example, or just with one coil from an unfolded strip.

Peacock Eye This can be made from either a loose or tight coil. After the coil is made pinch one side. A petal can be formed by bending the tip of the peacock eye slightly to one side. Contoured Peg After rolling a tight coil, push the peg up from underneath the center to contour it's shape. Used to add dimension to a design. Peg Roll a strip of paper tightly and glue the end while the coil is still tight. Pegs can be used in the design or glued to the underside of another shape to raise it creating dimension. Quotes Fold the strip in half, roll the ends in the same direction. One coil will be rolled toward the center crease, the other away from it. Open Heart Fold the strip of paper in half and roll the ends toward the center of the crease. Tendril (Note this got smashed in the scanner it should be open and springy looking) Roll in a spiral shape around the toothpick as tight as desired, also known as a spiral, rope or twist. "S" Shape Roll from both ends of the paper but on opposite sides of the strip. Diamond Made from either a loose or tight coil. After the coil is made pinch two opposite sides. Also called a marquis or an eye-shaped coil. Leaf Shape If you bend one or more ends of the diamond, you form a leaf shape. Oval Squeeze a loose coil into an oval shape, but try not to point the ends.

Square Roll a loose coil and form a diamond. Pinch the smooth sides into points forming a square. Rectangle Squeeze first into an oval then pinch the corners to form a rectangle. Star of Leaf Shape Form a diamond first. Grasping the ends push in toward the center forming two newer points with a curve between them. Triangle Pinch a loose coil into a 3-sided shape. Usually this looks better if you keep the center a round as possible. Closed Heart Pinch a triangle, then push in one side to form an indent. Half Moon Pinch a loose coil on two sides while placing your finger in the middle of one side, this will cause an indentation on that side. Tulip Pinch a loose coil on two sides while pushing in toward the center at one side.

Those are some of the basic shapes and how to make them. I will continue with more shapes and some finished designs. This will give you an idea of what quilling is. Have fun experimenting, I hope that this has your creative mind spinning, thinking of ways to combine the shapes into different patterns and designs.
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Flower pot card Description

A white card has flower pot designs of various colours, mounted on rectangles of colourful tissue paper edged with black quilling paper. The flower pot designs are made using quilling techniques.

Materials used

A white greetings card 88mm x 114mm (3 ins x 4 ins) Strips of 3mm wide quilling paper in colours of your choice. Strips of 2mm wide quilling paper in a dark colour of your choice. Nine rectangles of tissue in colours of your choice. Adhesive

Method
Background Make a template out of thin card as shown. Draw round the template and cut out rectangles of coloured tissue in chosen colours - i.e. rainbow shades, or shades of a single colour from dark through to light.

If the background of your card is a colour other than white, cut out a piece of white paper to the overall size of the design and mark rectangles on it in pencil. Using a Pritt Stick or similar, glue tissue rectangles to the white paper and carefully smooth them out. If necessary, trim the tissue to size and glue the whole thing to the background card. Edge the design using 2mm wide quilling paper in black or a dark colour depending upon the colours in your design. It is easier to glue the short strips first, before placing the longer strips over the top. To find the position of each flower centre, measure 15mm in from the side of each rectangle, and 15mm down from the top. Make a pencil mark at this point for each flower.

3mm wide quilling strips are used throughout the rest of the design. Flowers You will need two whole strips for each flower head. For each petal, make a tear drop shape using a quarter strip. Each flower has seven petals, so use the remaining quarter strip to make a peg shape for the centre of another flower in the design. Try to make all the teardrops the same size - they will fit together better. Leaves and Stems Make two 'eye' shapes as leaves for each flower using 75mm strips. For the stems, glue two 75mm strips on top of each other to make a stronger strip. Allow to dry, then cut into 15mm lengths. Flower pots

Each pot is made using half a strip of paper. Roll a coil (not too tightly) and glue down the end. Pinch the top edge of the pot first, using the join as one of the points. Then form the lower edge of the pot, making sure that it is narrower than the top edge. Assembly When you have made all the parts of the design, glue them down in the following order, working from the top downwards. Begin by sticking the first teardrop in the centre, with the point touching the pencil mark. Then glue the remaining teardrops in the order shown - this will help to keep the flower balanced. Put some glue along the edge of the stem and gently push it between number 6 and 7 petals, until it reaches the centre. Glue a leaf either side of the stem, so that they touch the top edge of the pot. Finally, glue a contrasting peg to the centre of the flower. Complete the remaining flowers in the same way.

This basic design can be adapted in a number of ways, using different arrangements and numbers of flowers. Experiment using different colours. A single flower could be used to decorate a special sheet of notepaper, as a gift tag, or as a place setting.