Quilling Basics - 2 : Basic Shapes

Hi

Today I will be sharing, the basic shapes that are made in quilling. There are 4 most commonly used shapes which are

1. Tight coil
2. Loose coil
3. Leaf
4. Tear Drop

Apart from these there are several shapes like heart, square, oval, triangle, etc.

Lets Begin:

1. Tight Coil

a. Take one end of a strip of quilling paper  and insert it into a slotted quilling tool.

b. Hold the paper with one hand and the quilling tool with the other hand.

c. Start turning the tool to roll the strip of paper.

d. Put a bit of tension on the paper so that it does not come loose.

e. Keep turning the tool until the other end of the quilling paper becomes very short.

f. With a toothpick, apply a little bit of glue on the paper to stick it to the coil and hold the shape in place.

g. To make bigger coils, join several strips of quilling paper together to get a long strip of paper.

h. To make multi-coloured tight coils, use several quilling paper strips of different colours joined together.

 2.     Loose Coil

 a. Make a tight coil as above.

 b. Keep turning the quilling tool until it reaches the other end of the quilling paper. Carefully remove the coil from the tool and let it unwind a little to make a loose coil. 

3. Leaf/Marquee

a. Make a loose coil as above.

b. Stick the end with glue

c. Pinch two opposite sides of the coil – simultaneously with both hands – to make a leaf shape.

4. Tear Drop

a. Make a loose coil as above.

b. Stick the end with glue

c. Pinch one side of the coil to make a tear drop shape. 

d. You can join two teardrops to make a heart.

There are many shapes that can be made by pinching various sides of a loose coil. Below are a few charts of basic shapes that I found on google. 

That's all for now. Will be back with more quilling lessons soon. 

Quiling Basics 1 - Tools

Hi

Today I will be writing about the basic tools and supplies needed for quilling.
First and foremost you will need a slotted needle like this

and Paper Strips like these. These strips are available in various sizes from 2mm to 10mm then in 25mm.
Oh!! I almost forgot you will also need glue.

These tools are readily available at your local craft/Stationery store. They also sell preset quilling sets specifically for card making or Jewellery making complete with printed instructions. As a beginner you will find these easy to use or little girls can use them to make projects too. These kits and tools mentioned are also available online at amazon.in, flipkart.com, etc.

Next is a pro-circle which is basically a geometric tool but here you can use it to select the size of your coils that you will be using in your projects.

As you move on to more complex projects you can then buy a quilling board that looks like this

Then there is the Quilling comb that is used to make flowers. You can practice on a regular comb until u get a hang of it and then buy this one for professional projects.

If you move on to Jewelry, you might need a mould like this one to make your jhumkas.

The final but most important tool is your imagination and your creativity. The strips are available in every colour possible and there is really no limit to what you want to make





Image Source: Google Search

Hello

Wikipedia describes #Quilling as 

Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper is rolled, looped, curled, twisted and otherwise manipulated to create shapes which make up designs to decorate greetings cards, pictures, boxes, eggs, and to make models, jewellery, mobiles etc. The most popular and versatile technique is that of rolling. The paper strip is rolled in fingers or using a tool called a quilling needle. The coil is then released and then glued at the tip and then shaped. These shaped coils are arranged to form flowers, leaves, and various ornamental patterns ^[1]

During the Renaissance, French and Italian nuns and monks used quilling to decorate book covers and religious items. The paper most commonly used was strips of paper trimmed from the gilded edges of books. These gilded paper strips were then rolled to create the quilled shapes. Quilling often imitated the original ironwork of the day

How did I start quilling? Well a huge credit goes to The Internet and YouTube. After my younger daughter was born I was a full time stay at home mom spending a lot of time on internet. I would often look for ideas to make crafts for my elder daughter’s projects and ideas for hairstyles. That's when I stumbled on one of the videos showing basic quilling techniques. At that time I thought that these things aren't available here. 

Then one day I saw a pack of multicolored quilling strips in a store and immediately bought it. The pack already contained needle which made my job easier. I came home and got started… This is the first piece I made.

My husband loved it and encouraged me to create more, which prompted me to slowly try making ear rings which I will be posting shortly. I will also be posting tutorials for some of them hoping to give back what I got from the internet and that someone will be inspired to take up this wonderful craft.