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, hatpins 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, 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.

Method
Before starting lay a piece of plastic sheeting on your work surface to put your finished coils onto. Also, squeeze out a small quantity of glue and have a toothpick handy.

• tear a strip of qilling paper in half (Tip 3) Note: all except one of the quilled shapes shown in this article are made using half lengths of a strip
• soften the end of the strip by gently rubbing between your finger and thumb
• place the strip through the prongs of the quilling tool and start to roll up

continue rolling in a tight coil until you come to the end of the strip

gently drop the coil onto the table and allow it to uncoil a little

pick up a small amount of glue with a toothpick and glue the loose end of the coil.

There are a few very basic shapes in quilling from which you can made a variety of designs. These shapes are shown below:
Nearly all of the shapes following are made from the basic loose coil, which has been glued.

	Teardrop - made by gently squeezing a coil to a point between your thumb and forefinger.
	A leaf shape is made the same way as a teardrop, with the pointed end gently bent sideways.
	An eye shape is made the same way as a teardrop, but squeezed to a point at both ends.
	A bell is made by squeezing two points and indenting the coil slightly, as shown at left.
	A heart is made from a teardrop by gently pushing a point inwards on the opposite side to the leaf point, as shown at left.
	A tight coil is rolled tightly and glued immediately. This tight coil has been made from a third of the length of one strip.
	Double inward scroll is made by rolling each end in towards the middle.
	An S scroll is made by scrolling each end in opposite directions.
	A heart scroll is made using a full length of strip.

All the following designs were made using the basic shapes shown above.

Note: When making your designs, use a piece of plastic as a base for gluing your shapes together. When the glue dries, your pieces can easily be removed from the plastic sheet.

Simple Flower
These are very easy to make using one leaf shape for the flower and a double outward scroll made using a full strip of green folded in half and glued to form a stem.

Insturctions and images by Beverley Walker from Geriantics.com.au Article used with Beverleys and Geriantics permission.

click here for a project using Quilling