Tutorial: An introduction to paper quilling

As you probably know, paper quilling or paper filigree can be used for creating greeting cards, decorating objects and even building three-dimensional sculptures.
This is a getting started quilling guide, where I'm showing the basics of paper quilling by the example of making a simple flower. The entire process should take about 30 minutes.
There are special tools and papers for quilling, but let's manage with only things everybody has usually at hand:
- sheets of double-sided colored paper (A4 or Letter size)
- wooden toothpicks/cocktail sticks, or a slotted tool
- metal ruler
- crafts knife
- pencil
- white craft glue (PVA)
- template with circles
- cutting mat or board
- nice colored or patterned paper for the base

1. Make marks of 3 mm (1/8 inch) along the short edges of a paper sheet. Always start measuring from the same edge, since the last mark may turn out shorter, than needed.

2. Cut strips using the craft knife and ruler. Try cutting a few sheets at a time: clamp them with office clips or clothes pegs. Press the ruler thoroughly and make sure the knife is sharp. Cut with one movement, applying strong pressure onto the knife and being careful not to cut your fingers (and table). You get colour paper strips 3 mm (1/8 inch) wide and approximately 30 cm (11 inches) long.

3. For a petal take a strip and roll it tightly around a toothpick. You might want to make a slit in the toothpick, it holds the end of a strip and makes the start easier.

4. Gently pull the roll off the toothpick and put in into the circles template. Choose a circle of 1.5-2 cm (5/8 to 3/4 inch) in diameter. Release it, the paper unrolls up to the size of the circle. Don't hold the roll for a long time, it won't unroll otherwise.

5. Glue the end of the strip and let dry.

6. Take the coil out and pinch it on one side. You've just got one of the basic quilling shapes (see at the end of this article), which is called a "teardrop". There are about 20 basic shapes, but the idea is always the same: roll and pinch.

7. Make 5 more "teardrops" in the same manner — the other petals of the flower.

8. And now let's make a leaf. Repeat steps 3 through 5, then take out the coil and pinch two opposite ends simultaneously. This shape is called an "eye".


9. We'll use another shape for the second leaf for a change. This shape is called, strangely enough, a "leaf". Do everything as if you were making an "eye", but after pinching shift the hands in opposite directions without releasing the shape.


10. Now making the center of the flower is easy: just roll a coil and leave it as is. To make it smaller use a smaller circle in the template (about 1 cm or 3/8 inch). It's called a "loose coil", by the way.
11. Arrange the elements, mark their position on the base, then apply a thin layer of glue to the bottom of the shapes and attach them to the base.
Some basic quilling shapes for reference:

Comments
arlene,
Puyallup florist
I wasn't sure if anybody needs this :), there are so many quilling sites! Glad you found it useful.
Влада
Your work is wonderful.....
but how do you manage to glue it to the background sheet after the entire quilling process...
thanks
Thank you for the tutorial. Will try it soonest, :)
GOD bless!
thanks!
i tried many thin papers but they did not work for me!!
CAN YOU TELL ME SOME GOOD AND SPECIFIC TYPE OF PAPER!!
You can find information about paper I use here: Cutting paper strips for quilling
@How to Macrame
Unfortinately, I can tell nothing regarding quilling for people with arthritis. Sorry
thank you!
thank you
only last night i came acros ur blog..t ws lovlyyy...u rely giftd..i lovd each nd evrythng dat u hav done...
inna dear,cud u pls teach me how to make squares and triangles..i have tried bt i am nt getting it!!!
am just a starter...
can u be my guide?? plss...
Sai
Thank You
Steff
Thanks for such a helpful tutorial! Just tried some stuff and it feels good :)
its usefull since i'm doing it for the first time..
thanks for sharing us the tips.
may i know what type of paper are suitable and easier to do quilling, since its unasy to find the craft paper at malaysia.
Thank you! Please read this post about the paper strips I use: DIY: Cutting paper strips for quilling.
Thanks a lot...
- une fleur comme la tienne faite par mon amie,
- un papillon faite par moi parce que mes feuilles n'étaient pas suffisamment symétriques.
Je rechercherai un second tutoriel mais voilà un bon début qui nous a bien plu....