Quilling Patterns and Designs

Quilling Needle Tool

To begin the craft of quilling, you do not require various equipments or quilling tools.  The most important quilling tools are quilling needle tool, glue and paper.  You will also require a quilling board, tweezers and a few toothpicks for applying tiny amounts of glue wherever needed.  We will discuss about the quilling needle tools in this article.

Types of Quilling Tools

You get plenty of commercial tools in the market for curling paper, both straight and slotted needle types.  You can also use a corsage pin or toothpick.  These quilling needle tools come in all sizes and shapes.  You can use this quilling tool to curl your paper strips. A needle quilling tool, slotted tool, round toothpick or corsage pin can also be used.  The paper strip is curled by rolling it around the center shaft using a needle tool, toothpick or pin.  The end of the quilling paper is grabbed by a slotted quilling tool and you can wind the paper in to a coil by turning the handle.

The head of the tool must be long enough for the paper to be used.  This is very important.  The paper will keep falling off, if it is too short.  If you are learning a new craft, this can be highly frustrating.

All quilling tools have their own pros and cons.  Starting and rolling the coil can require a bit of skill and the needle tools can be used to make a small center.  If you are a beginner, you may use a slotted tool, as it is easy to use.  Most of these slotted tools have a section or collar for the paper to rest.  This helps in rolling the paper evenly.  To keep the paper in place, the end of the paper is threaded through the slot.

You must purchase a slotted tool with a long cushioned handle as it is recommended for beginners.  Once you get accustomed to quilling, you can try different ways like using a needle tool or finger rolling.  If you wish to keep things simple and want to minimize your expenses, then you should try the toothpick.  It is easy for the paper to cling on to the wooden surface rather than the smooth shaft of the pin or quilling needle tool.

Where to find Quilling Tools?

You can buy most quilling tools and supplies in a good hobby shop or stationery shop. You can also find all types of quiling tools and supplies online at Amazon.com.

Using a quilling needle tool is very easy if you properly learn the basics.  First and foremost, you must moisten the tip of the paper and then lay it across your index finger below the needle tools pointed end.  You must not shake the tool and keep it still.  To roll the paper around the needle tool, you may use your thumb.
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Quilling Tools – Needle Tool

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Making Quilled Butterfly Patterns

Would you like to send a heartfelt as well as hand-crafted greeting card to someone who you know is celebrating a special occasion?  Using delicate quilled paper forms, you can create greeting cards that are eye-catching, dimensional and sure to impress your friends.

Making quilled shapes and patterns is easy – simply roll a thin strip of paper into a coil and pinch it to give a desired shape and arrange them in patterns, but the results are amazing!  With just a few tools and little practice you can master the rewarding art of paper quilling.  In this post, we will demonstrate how you can create Quilled Butterflies that you can add to your greeting cards.

With quilling, you can create any kind of patterns like animals, birds, butterflies and flowers.   Butterflies are the magnificent creation of God and they make one of the most alluring quilling patterns.  Making a quilling butterfly is really a simple job if you get familiar with the basic quilling shapes.

To make a quilled butterfly, we need to first make the four parts of the butterflies – antennas, body, upper wings and lower wings.  The vivid colors of wings give butterflies a splendid look, so always remember to use multi-color quilling strips to make the quilled butterfly look more beautiful.  To create a quilled butterfly, we need to first make the quilling shapes in the form of eye, half moon and teardrop.  Here are the instructions for making the parts that make the butterfly.

Antennas:

Fold a strip of 6.5 cm in half and use a rod to bend both ends to outside as shown in the diagram.
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Quilling Butterfly Patterns

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Paper quilling or Paper Filigree is an art of making attractive and decorative designs out of different quilling paper strips.  Paper quilling is a good way to make greeting cards, paper quilling flowers and other hand-made gift items.  One of the main items that you’d need to get started in quilling is the quilling paper strips.

What is Quilling Paper?

Quilling paper is a kind of paper which is specially designed for quilling.  This paper is cut into form of strips which can be easily rolled and coiled.  The most common width of the strip is 1/8 inches and for thicker designs, you can go for widths up to ¼ inches.

You can find a wide variety of ready made pre-cut quilling paper strips in various widths (1/8”, 1/6”, ¼” etc) at a hobby shop, craft store or stationery shop.  You can get these quilling paper strips in various colors and paper types such as two-tone paper, graduated colored paper, glittery lined paper or pearl paper.  You can use these paper strips to create unique quilling patterns and designs.

If it is difficult to find the quilling strips in your location, you can easily cut your own strips at home.  You can choose any kind of paper, if you just want to learn quilling.  However, if you are serious about your quilling project, you should get the paper of the right thickness.  Paper thickness is measured in basis weight or in gsm (grams per square meter).  Higher the basis weight or gms value, thicker is the paper.  Ideally, paper with basis weight 28 lb to 31 lb (100 gsm to120 gsm)  should be good for quilling purpose. I f you use a thicker paper, it will be difficult to roll the paper into a coil and there is a chance that your coil gets folds.

You should also ensure that the strips should be perfectly cut to precision for quilling purpose. You can use an inexpensive paper trimmer, such as the Carl Rotary Trimmer, which comes with a sturdy calibrated surface – for making the quilling paper strips. You can precisely cut trim up to 10 sheets at a time. Steps to make quilling paper using a paper trimmer are as follows.

Instructions for making quilling paper strips

Take a sheet of paper and mark it with ½, ¼, 1/8 inch or any other desired width based on your requirements. It is not necessary to mark the paper if you have a trimmer with calibrated surface. You should use your desired widths of quilling strips depending on your project requirements.

1. Place the paper sheet on the flat surface of the paper trimmer.
2. Line up the paper in such a manner that it is easier to cut the entire portion. Some paper cutters are very helpful to use as they have markings to line up the paper. This will  further help you to make your quilling paper more easily.
3. Take your own time and start cutting the paper with paper cutter. While cutting, make sure that the paper strips do not have any rough or tear edges, as it will affect the quality of quilling shapes.
4. Check the size of the first strip and cut more strips with the same size or different sizes depending on your needs.
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   How to make Quilling Paper?

Flower Quilling Patterns

People enjoy creating floral patterns in creative arts, as flowers are very beautiful, elegant and attractive.  In this article, we will show you how to make simple flower patterns with paper quilling.  One of the simplest flowers to make with quilling is the Tulip.  Of course you can create a variety of flowers using quilled petals with different shapes.  Here are the steps which will guide you to make beautiful quilling patterns of tulips.

Once you go through these instructions and the accompanying video, you will realize that making a quilled flower is very easy once you get familiar with it.

Here are the supplies you will need for making quilled flowers:

• Quilling paper strips of various colors (¼ or ½ inches wide). You can get these ready made strips in a hobby shop or stationery shop.  Alternately, you can use  a paper trimmer to cut strips from colored paper.
• Quilling tool -- You can get a basic quilling tool at a hobby shop. You can also use a knitting needle or similar object as your quilling tool.
• Basic Shape Tool which you can get at a stationery shop.
• Glue and a toothpick

Once you have all of these items, you can get ready for creating quilled tulips.

1. Insert the paper strip into the quilling tool.
2. Hold it tightly with your thumb and index finger to prevent the strip from slipping off the tool and then start rotating the tool with other hand.  Do not allow the coil to loosen up while rolling it.
3. After rolling take out the coil slowly and carefully from the tool.  Do not try to pull the tool out of the coil; it may damage your coil.
4. Place the coil in one of the circles in the shape tool. The rolled coil will eventually fit the circular shape.
5. Apply the glue at the end of the coil by using toothpick and press it slowly with your finger.
6. Take the loose coil and shape it in the form of Tulip petals using the quilling tools and pinching the coil slightly as shown in the video.
7. Make more of such coils and pinch them to shape in the form of tulip petals. You can use red, orange, white or violet colors..
8. Use green paper for the stem of the tulip flower.
9. You can arrange the flowers in a card as shown in the video. Use your creativity to make your card unique.

Here is the instructional video for making quilled tulips.

You can also make flower petals from teardrop and eye shapes of quilled paper. Flower petals can be made from any kind of basic shapes like tight coil, loose coil, eccentric coil, half moon, crescent, triangle, heart, beehive shape etc.

To beautify the flower petals, double shaded strips can be used. If it is not available you can join two different color strips end to end to get the same. To give a prominent look, you can make different shapes of leaves and stem to make a complete flower.

Flowers can be made in small size or large size based as per your needs.  Create a variety of quilled flowers with different shapes of quilling .  Arrange these flowers together on the card to make a quilling design.

Free Quilling Patterns and Designs

If you are a beginner in quilling, you can start quilling with basic quilling shapes.  Once you start with these basic shapes, you can make wide variety of beautiful quilling patterns and designs out of them by gluing them together in various creative ways.

Basic Quilling Shapes

Here are some of the basic quilling shapes.  You can easily make these shapes using basic quilling tools.

1. Tight Coils

Peg

To make a peg, roll a taut coil and don’t let it go.   As the peg is made of solid paper, it is worth taking the trouble to smooth out the layers and tidy the center, which will improve its performance.  Glue the end of the paper strip, keeping the coil tight, while it is still on the tool.

A Solid Coil

A solid coil can be made by using the fingers without the use of a quilling tool.   Try to keep the coil very tight and avoid forming a hole in the center

Spiral

Roll the strip on to a piece of thin wire and twist the wire while holding the paper taut.  Carefully remove the wire by pushing the paper off the end after you have wound the whole strip.  Tighten up the spiral by twisting and pulling.

Paper Sticks

Roll the paper tightly around the wire closely and centrally as possible while keeping the ends even.  Glue the end of the paper in place and remove the wire.

2. Closed Loosed coils

Teardrop

Roll the paper on quilling tool.  Release the coil and pinch into a point using your forefinger and thumb and glue the end of the strip.

Eye shape

Just as done for Teardrop, loosen the coil and pinch both the ends with your forefinger and thumb to make the eye shape.

Oval Shape

Gently squeeze the coil between your thumb and forefinger, with the join on one side to form the oval shape.

Square shape

Make an eye shape first and then pinch the other two sides to form a square.

Rectangle shape

Same as a square, but with two long sides and two short sides to form a rectangle.

Leaf shape

First make an eye shape and then gently press two opposite edges together.

Petal Shape

Pinch the coil into teardrop first and then pull the point over to one side.

Heart shape

First make a teardrop and then put a dent in the rounded end using your thumb nail.  Alternatively, use the point of a cocktail stick.

Triangle

Make in the same way as a square and then pinch three sides of the coil to form a triangle.

When making all these shapes, always pinch your coil at the glued join which helps to hide it and glue the end of the strip only after forming the required shape.  You can use all these shapes and make any kind of quilling patterns based on your imagination.  Show your creativity by making different quilling patterns out of these quilling designs to gift to others.  Next time we will introduce more  free quilling designs and patterns.

Making of these basic quilling shapes is the explained in the following video.

Free Quilling Patterns for Christmas

In this Christmas why not create some decorations with the help of Quilling and surprise everyone, by the unique designs and patterns.  You can express your creativity by just making your own Christmas greeting cards or by decorating the Christmas tree in amazing style with tinsel Christmas quilling patterns.

Your imagination and creativity will work out for making your style icon.  Very basic and simple designs like squares, coils, heart shape, teardrop, leaf shape are used to make a Christmas tree beautiful.  Three green triangle shapes will make a Christmas tree with three squared brown strips as trunk.  Gifts can be made in many shapes using colorful glittering strips placed below the tree.  Coils as baubles decorations and a tinsel star on the top.  Quilling will give a stunning effect to the Christmas tree.

By arranging different shapes in different pattern will help you out in making complex designs like manger, baby Jesus, angel and many more.  You will surely enjoy creating your own Christmas tree with Quilling.

There are some ideas which will help you to earn extra  money from your own quilling patterns.

1. Make Christmas card to sell

This is one of the way in which you can create your  own Christmas cards from different Christmas quilling patterns and sell it to others.  You can sell  these Christmas cards to your family and friends, on eBay, online or any of the local store.

2. Make Christmas decoration

You can make Christmas decoration in 3D or 2D by using your own quilling patterns and you can sell them in different locations on capability.  In this way you can make more money out of them.

3. Make Christmas Gifts

Apart from the Christmas cards you can also create variety of Christmas gifts. You can  make Christmas boxes as gifts or  put other gifts in that boxes to gift to your family and friends.  Creating quilled jewelry is the best idea to gift to girls and you can also make beautiful quilling pictures for your family.   So you can enjoy special occasions by making quilling gifts for your family and friends.  This is an advantage for you to save  money and make extra money by selling these.

4. Quilling classes for children

Why can’t you offer classes for children during their holidays if you like to work with children.  Teach the children how to create quilling patterns and  make Christmas cards or decorations to give to their friends and family.  You can charge for these classes and make extra income.

Quilling is an exciting and fun way to earn more money especially in the festive season to make Christmas cards, decorations and other patterns by using wide variety of quilling designs and patterns.  So celebrate your Christmas by making different Christmas quilling designs, gifts, cards and other beautiful pictures.

Welcome to Quilling Patterns – your resource to everything in quilling – such as free quilling patterns, quilling designs, quilling instructions, quilling books and quilling supplies.  We have designed this site especially for beginners who are in interested in quilling.

In this site you will get different information about quilling samples, quilling basic shapes and quilling flowers patterns.  You will also get idea about paper quilling patterns and paper quilling ideas.  If you wish to make decorations for Christmas, you can get many ideas about Christmas quilling patterns in this site.

Quilling – also known as paper filigree is an art which was developed in Europe.  It is an art form that involves the use of paper strips which are shaped in form of coils and then pasted together to create decorative patterns.  The paper is rolled to create a basic coil shape by winding it around a quill – hence the name quilling.  The paper is glued at one of the tips and then the coil is given a distinct shape.  These coils in various shapes are then arranged to form ornamental patterns that includes flowers, leaves, and other artistic patterns.

In quillling, you will learn to roll, twist, or curl the strip of paper to make wide variety of quilling patterns.  Quilling normally requires some practice but it is easier to learn.  But one thing is that those who are beginners, they should start from the basic shapes of quilling and then go for the different types of quilling like 2D quilling and 3D quilling.  3D quilling is complicated and it is an advanced quilling.  once you are familiar with all types of quilling, you can easily make any type of designs and patterns with quilling.

Even with simple quilling pattern, you can enjoy a lot by experimenting new ideas and adding your creativity.