The act of quilling itself may seem simple enough: paper strips are rolled around a needle-like instrument, shaped then glued.  However, as quilled designs are invariably made up of individual shapes, the entire process of Paper Quilling can be both effort and time-intensive, depending on the complexity and scale of the project.

 

Like all works of creation, the process of Paper Quilling really begins with designing and different quillers go about it differently.  Generally, there are two ways from which quillers work once the theme and subject of a Paper Quilling project are chosen.

 

Some quillers choose a more systematic approach by having the design for their work first.  This design can be a pattern sketched from imagination or one that is based on reference images.  The suitable quilled shapes to use in the pattern is also decided at this stage.

 

Other quillers prefer to directly use the quilled shapes as the basis for their design as the shapes themselves are already highly decorative on their own.

 

Quillers usually also have to determine the type of Paper Quilling to be done, that is, whether the quillwork is the "mosaic" form, which is the collective use of various shapes to form designs, or it is the "free-standing" type that is able to erect without support of any kind.  This, and in fact all designing decisions, is normally influenced by the individual quiller's personal style and preference as much as the suitability of the design.

 

A template of the finalized design is then drawn for use in the final stage of the Paper Quilling process whereby quilled shapes will be assembled to form this design accordingly.  At the same time, measurements pertaining to the desired sizes of the quilled shapes are planned.

 

 

 

The fundamental medium used for Paper Quilling is paper strips.  Commercially available ones are typically sixty centimetres in length and in numerous widths, starting from as narrow as one millimetre, of which the standard width used is three millimetres.  While these commercially available paper strips may come in a large spectrum of colours and edgings, quillers still cut some of their own paper strips for the sake of achieving the best possible effect for their work.  They do this with the help of a manually-operated (quilling) paper shredder which shreds paper into strips of three millimetres width.

 

Paper strips are first rolled into coils with either one of two types of quilling tools.  They are the needle tool which consists of a long needle set into a wooden handle and the slotted tool that has a narrow slot at the end of a needle for catching and holding one end of a paper strip as it is being rolled.  The coils are then shaped and glued. This act of rolling, shaping and gluing paper strips, coined as "quilling", is repeatedly done till the quantity required is met.

 

Lastly, these quilled shapes are assembled to form the required design with the help of a template and a quilling work board.  This work board has a clear plastic cover for holding a template under it so that the quilled shapes can be arranged and glued together to form the design according to the template.  Straight pins are used to hold the shapes in position.

 

 

 

Very often, a piece of quillwork does not solely comprise quilled shapes made with a quilling tool.  It encompasses other shapes created with other tools.

A fringed flower requires fringing, which is the cutting of tiny slits along one edge of a paper strip, and this is done by the fringing machine.

 

The effect of a soft, wavy appearance on paper strips, known as crimped strips, is produced by the crimping machine, through running paper strips between the interlocking cogs of the machine.

 

A designer board, one that has a series of circular moulds in six different sizes, is used when making eccentric shapes, characterized by their centres which are pulled to one side.  It is also used when quilled shapes of a uniform size are essential.

 

There are also times when spontaneously created shapes are called for in a project.  These are referred to as irregular shapes and are specially tailor-made by individual quillers as they work.  Any tools employed along the way may also be unique to that particular project.

 

 

 

The Paper Quilling process is not considered complete until the quillwork is mounted.  The mount, that is, the background for the quillwork, can be of almost any material that the quiller deems fit for the work.  The choice of the mount relies on the application of the quillwork as well.  The most frequently used mount is a cardstock as most quillworks appear as framed artwork.

 

Of course, Paper Quilling is not a methodical process whereby one goes through step-by-step to complete a piece of quillwork.  The actual process differs from one quiller to another, and this is precisely why each quillwork is as unique as the quiller who created it.

 

 

 

Lake City Craft Co. Special thanks for their permission to use their product photos on this web page.

 

 

 

 

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