How to Paper Quill

My family on my mother’s side has a long history of crafters, artists, quilters, sewists, and the like. 

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that learning how to do paper quilling was part of my life. My grandmother had some old quilling supplies in her attic that I found as a teen, and she proceeded to teach me how to paper quill.

What is quilling?

Quilling is a paper art form. Using strips of paper, the artist rolls, shapes and glues these strips to create a picture or design.

It begins with rolling the strips into coils of different tightness, then manipulating the coils into different shapes. The various quilling shapes are then glued together to create 3D art.

History of Quilling

Many nationalities claim that quilling originated long ago in their respective countries. However, the true origin of quilling is not known. 

It is speculated that it began with the invention of paper in China around 100 AD or perhaps in Egypt where some tombs contained coiled wire shapes that are very similar to the shapes of quilling seen today.

It is known that ancient Greeks used thin wires made of metal that were coiled around vases, boxes, pillars and containers as a decorative art in 300 AD.

Quilled religious items have been found upon excavation of  homes and places of worship across Europe, which were estimated to be made during the medieval time period. 

The most interesting record of quilling may be that of French and Italian nuns who used the gilded edges torn from pages of Holy books to wrap around goose quills. 

They created coiled shapes with the golden edges for decoration and to make holy pictures between the 1200s to the 1600s.

Because they wrapped the thin strips around goose quills, the art became known as quilling.

What are some quilling paper crafts?

Some quilling craft ideas are making:

• Greeting cards
• Bookmarks
• Picture frames
• Place cards
• Jewelry

There are many different quilling paper crafts to be found on our Free Paper Quilling Patterns and Ideas page.

To learn how to quill, scroll down for excellent video tutorials, books, quilling supplies, and written directions.

Start now to learn how to do paper quilling.  Be sure to take a look at our page showing quilling tools and supplies .

Quilling is a beautiful art form to learn and enjoy!