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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