How is a Paper Fringer Useful to Me for Quilling?

Have you considered purchasing a paper fringer? Once you have started to gain some experience of quilling you may want to experiment with different techniques. One technique you may want to consider is fringing which is simply making small regular cuts in your paper strips to form a "fringe". These fringed pieces of paper can then be made into such intricate shapes as flowers.

Of course there is nothing to stop you making these cuts by hand using a sharp pair of scissors, but getting these even can be extremely difficult, not to mention the fact that it is extremely time consuming and tedious. If you are looking to make a large number of flowers then you may want to think about buying a paper fringer. This is a device which fringes your paper strips for you. It is simply a case of loading the paper strip into the tool raising and lowering the lever and you will have a perfectly fringed strip of paper ready to make into your desired shape.

You can buy 90 degree and 45 degree fringers. The 90 degree fringers are great for making flowers, while the 45 degree fringers are more suitable for making such items as leaves.

Whether or not you feel the need to buy a fringer is entirely dependent upon how adventurous you are and whether you are likely to make a large number of flowers and other fringed designs.


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Making Your Own Quilling Designs

When you are first starting out, coming up with your own quilling designs can feel a little daunting at first. However it is simply a matter of thinking about the basic quilling shapes and considering how you can put them together to form your design.

You should resist at first the temptation to try anything too complicated. Start with something simple and build up to more complex designs. Start with a simple outline design, of a flower or animal for example. You may want to start by tracing the outline of picture to begin with, or draw your own outline picture if you are more confident.

Once you have drawn out the outline, it is a matter of considering how you can use quilled tight or loose coils to fill your design. It may help to draw these shapes onto paper or card, cut them out and place them over the outline to see how they might fit together. Don't forget about the use of color - use contrasting colors for impact, or similar colors for a more subtle effect.

Once you have mastering simple designs then you can become more adventurous and make a range of patterns, scenes or whatever else takes your fancy.


Discover the amazing secrets of quilling compiled from the world's best quillers

Learning How to Do Quilling

The first steps in learning how to do quilling is to learn some basic techniques before progessing on to more complicated designs. Basic quilling designs are generally made up of a number of standard quilled shapes that are then combined to make your desired effect.

Standard quilled shapes generally fall into two types; tight coils and loose coils. These coils can then be manipulated to your desired shape.

Examples of tight coils:

A "peg" is made by rolling a strip of paper tightly onto the quilling tool and gluing the end.







An "eye" is made by starting with a closed coil. After gluing hold between finger and thumb of each hand and pinch gently to form eye shape.










Examples of Loose Coils:

A "closed loose coil" is made by rolling the paper on the quilling tool then drop it onto the workboard and allow it to uncurl for a while. Put a small amount of glue onto the end and hold gently for a few seconds until dry.










A "teardrop" is made by starting with a closed coil as above. After gluing pinch one end to form a point to make a teardrop shape.










Once you have mastered the basic shapes you can combine them to form a wide variety of designs.


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History of the Art of Quilling

The art of quilling may well date back to ancient Egypt, but it was in the 16th and 17th centuries that came to greater prominence. At this time it was practised by French and Italian nuns who decorated pictures and boxes with quilled designs. In fact the name quilling derived from the fact that the nuns used goose quills to coil the paper. The art spread to England for decorating religious artefacts. The poorer churches would used gilded or silvered paper, often making indistinguishable from real gold and silver filigree work.

The art of quilling continued to be practised by ladies of the Stuart, Georgian and Regency periods, as well as North American settlers. It was an art practised by wealthy ladies of leisure to decorate a wide variety of household items.

Whilst quilling has fallen in and out of fashion over the centuries, it has enjoyed a recent resurgence in recent years with the development of modern papers and techniques.

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A Brief Quilling Guide

Within this short quilling guide I will look at what quilling involves and the tools that you need. Quilling is the art of making pictures from coiled thin strips of paper. The paper is made into tight or loose coils and manipulated into shapes. These shapes are assembled into designs and glued onto paper or card. The nature of quilling gives it a three-dimensional feel. In fact some quilling artists specialise in 3-dimensional self-supporting models. The range of quilling designs includes cards, picture frames, invitations and scrap-book pages. The only limitation is your imagination!

The equipment required for quilling is fairly basic. You will need your thin strips of paper of course. Although you can cut these yourself, it is not recommended as this leads to uneven edges. Specialised quilling paper comes in a variety of colors, widths and weights. You will need a something to coil your paper with - you can use something such as a needle or toothpick, but it is easier with a specialised quilling tool. You will need glue - any white glue that dries clear is fine.

A quilling fringer is also useful for making interesting patterned eges for such things as flowers.

Discover the amazing secrets of quilling compiled from the world's best quillers!