Quilling Instructions

These step-by-step quilling instructions will allow you to make these basic shapes:

Tight Coil    Loose Coil   Eccentric Coil   Teardrop             Eye

Half Moon    Crescent        Triangle          Square             Beehive

How to Make a Tight Coil

Gather the following items: - strips of paper (⅛ or ¼ inches wide) of varying colors- a slotted quilling tool,- a drop of white glue on a piece of scrap paper and- a toothpick.

1. Insert the end of the paper into the slot of the quilling tool.2. Turn the slotted tool towards you. Place your thumb or index finger at

the very tip of the slotted tool: this will prevent the paper from slipping off the tool. Use the other fingers to guide the strip of paper so that it rolls into an even plug (called a tight coil).

3. When done, turn the slotted tool a quarter turn away from you. Pull the plug out of the slotted tool. Hint: the coil comes off the tool neatly if you pull the coil off the tool and not pull the tool out of the coil.

4. Use a toothpick to apply a small smidgen of glue onto the free end of the tight coil. Use your finger, a clean toothpick, or forceps to press the free end onto the coil.

5. When dry (about 5 seconds), you will have a tight coil. These can be used to make flowers, grapes, eyes and more.

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How to Make Loose Coils and Basic Shapes

Loose Coil: To make a loose coil, simply roll a strip of paper as above. Once you have removed the coil from the slotted quilling tool, immediately release the coil so that it can unravel. The tight coil will relax into a loose coil. If your coil remains tightly wound, you need to work faster and release the coil before the curves have set.

After the coil has relaxed, apply glue and secure the loose end as above.

Teardrop: To make the basic shapes, pinch the loose coil at the proper location. Don't be afraid to pinch your loose coil - teardrops and eyes are very easy to make. Squares and triangles require a little more practice to ensure equal distances between the corners. Loose coils can be pinched into other shapes such as holly, hexagon, duck feet, and so forth.

Eccentric Loose Coil: Make a loose coil as above. Use a clean toothpick or a pin to compress the rounds of paper towards one side of the coil. Apply glue all along the top of the coil where the rounds meet. Hold the shape for 10 seconds before releasing. Making an eccentric coil is easier if you have a circle template, a cork board, or forceps. Read about tools here).

Beehive: Make a tight coil as above. Use the back-end of the slotted quilling tool to push the layers of paper away from one another. You can also use other implements such as the eraser-end of a pencil, or a round-ended ball-point pen.

Scrolls: Make a loose coil and leave it open-ended. this method is great for making letters of the alphabet or decorative borders. Learn to make them here.

Husking: uses pins to generate uniform loops and shapes. There are two methods: Straight Husking and Fan Shaped Husking. Learn to make them here.

Combing: uses a comb or an onion holder to makes scalloped shapes. Great for wings, pinwheels, borders, and other filled shapes. It's a totally new look. Combing quilling instructions here.

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Easy quilling Projects

learn how to make eyes (change the paper color) see quilling instructions to make a fringed flower

see quilling instructions to make a rose

learn how to make a tree

read about quilling tools and supplies

see gallery

go to the top of quilling instructions page

Quilling - Combing - Spreuers

In basic quilling, you use a slotted quilling tool or a quilling needle.In husking, you use round-headed pins .In combing, you use an onion holder , also called a "quilling comb".

An onion holder looks like a hair pick - the kind used by people with Afro hairstyles. In the technique of combing in quilling, you can use a regular comb, a pick comb, or an onion holder - they all work equally well. Originally, an onion holder is used to hold an onion as you cut it. The metal tines (prongs) dig into the onion layers and allows you to chop the onion without endangering your fingers.

Shown from left to right are shapes you can make with combing:

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                - leaf-like shape (called spreuer),                - spreuer made with different color paper,                - single-sided spreuer,                - flower made with 5 spreuers,                - flower made with 5 single-sided spreuer.

In quilling, a strip of paper is wrapped around the tines of the onion holder. There are at least 3 ways to use an onion holder:      - make flat, leaf-like shapes      - make evenly shaped petals      - make exotic, filigree leavesLet's start with making spreuers...

Making Spreuers: flat, leaf-like Shapes

This technique of combing is also called "spreuer" after the Swiss art of wrapping straw into flat, leaf-shapes. See an example of Swiss spreuers here. The term "straw" means "hay" or "dried grass", it does not refer to plastic drinking straws.

1. Start by getting an onion holder or a comb and a strip of paper. In this example, the quilling comb had 15 metal tines (prongs). The paper was 1/8" wide. Fold the tail end of the paper so it forms a hook.

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2. Hook the paper onto the bottom tine so the hook is in front and the paper is behind the comb.

3. Weave the long end of the paper to the front of the comb. In this example, the paper is weaved between tines 6 and 7. Add a drop of glue on the hook.

4. Pull the long end of the paper down towards the hook. Press the two layers together and hold for a few seconds so the glue can set.

5. Bring the long end of the paper up behind the comb. Weave the paper to the front between the tines that are just one below. In this case, the paper passes between tines 5 and 6. The paper will be offset a little.

6. Place a dab of blue near the base of the paper where the hook would have been.

7. Pull the long end of the paper down towards the base. Press down for a few seconds so the layers glue together.

8. If you are making a double sided spreuer then repeat steps 5, 6, and 7 but on the left side:

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9. Pull paper up behind the tool, weave it between tines 5 and 6,

add a drop of glue at the base, then 10. bring the paper down and press until glue is set.

11. Continue in this manner: wrap the paper around the tines, alternate from right to left; move down one rung at each iteration.

17. When done, cut off excess paper and glue down the loose end. 18. Slide the completed leaf-like shape (spreuer) off the tines.

Shown are (from left to right):    - leaf-like shape (spreuer),    - spreuer made with different color paper,    - single-sided spreuer,    - flower made with 5 spreuer,    - flower made with 5 single-sided spreuer.

As you might imagine, these flat shapes can be used for many things including the wings of birds and butterflies.

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make evenly shaped petals with combing

make exotic, filigree leaves with combing

learn husking with round-headed pins

learn basic quilling techniques

see simple projects

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Quilling Scrolls

Learn how to make quilling scrolls. These swirly, curly strips of paper can be used to enhance and decorate greeting cards and picture frames.

A quilling scroll is different from a quilling coil. Coils are held together with glue whereas scrolls are left loose. As a consequence, these strips of paper have a very airy feel to them. They are used in conjunction with coils. For example, a scroll can be the stem that connects the flower head and the leaves.

There are 4 or 5 basic scrolls:

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      Scroll              Heart             C-Scroll       S-Scroll           V-Scroll  

How to Make Basic Scrolls

Heart and V-Scroll: Take a strip of paper and fold it in half. Unfold it and insert the end into the slotted quilling tool.

For the heart scroll, roll the paper towards the inside of the folded crease. Remove the coil from the quilling tool and allow the rounds to relax. Repeat with the other end of the paper. Arrange the scroll so that it is in the shape of a heart. Optional: you may place a small dab of glue in between the two coils.

For the V-scroll, roll the paper towards the outside of the crease line. Repeat on the other side and arrange the coils to look symmetrical.

C-Scroll and S-Scroll: Take a strip of paper and identify the midpoint (do not fold, just look). Roll the end of the paper towards the midpoint and then release the coil. Repeat with the other end of the paper. Arrange the coils so that they are the same size; shape the paper so it curves evenly.

For the C-scroll, roll one coil clockwise and the other counter-clockwise so that the coils come together head-to-head.

For the S-scroll, roll both coils in the same direction; they will be more like head-to-tail.

Scrolls can be used to make letters:

Fold the paper to make a variety of shapes:

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Spirals are made by pulling the paper off while it is still hooked onto the slotted quilling tool.

    zig-zag         bird beaks          bird feet        spiral

Scrolls make great borders and trims.

Quilling: Straight Husking

Husking is a technique in quilling which allows you to form looped shapes of defined size. There are two styles of huskings:      • Straight Husking      • Fan Shaped Husking

When making standard quilling coils, you wrap the paper around a slotted tool, remove the plug of paper, and then allow the paper to unravel a little to get a loose coil (instructions). The size of the coil will depend on how tight you wrapped the paper and how long you allow it to unravel. It can be challenging to make coils of the exact size because it is not easy to control the unraveling process (a cirlce template helps control the size of a loose coil).

With husking, this is not a problem. Husking produces loops of the same size and they look almost identical every time. Here, the paper strip is wrapped around pins - the pins define the location where the paper will be placed down. Husking is a more controlled process allowing for a more uniform project.

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Straight Husking

1. Place 4 or 5 pins in a straight line.Take a strip of paper and fold the end to form a hook.Hook the paper onto the first pin.

2. Place a dab of glue on the paper on the outside of the hook.

3. Wrap the long end of the paper around the second pin, bring it back towards the first pin to form a loop. Pinch the papers to glue them together.

4. Bring the paper towards the third pin.5. Apply a dab of glue on the paper near the first pin.

6. Wrap the paper around the third pin, bring it back towards the first pin, and pinch the papers to glue them together.

7. Continue wrapping the paper around the pins and glueing the layers of paper together at the base of the first pin.

8. Repeat the process until all the pins are used up.

9. When done, cut off excess paper and glue the tail end of the paper to the husking.

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10. Remove pins and then remove your husking.

Depending on how tightly you wrap the paper, the husking can be narrow or wide. If it is too narrow, press down on the top of the husking to widen the loops.

Shown are three huskings made the same way but with different widths. They look very different from one another!

You can place more pins to get more loops. You can place the pins at different distances from one another to get a different pattern. The husking on the left was made with 4 pins. The husking on the right used 6 pins but the distance between third and fourth pins is double the distance of the other pins.

To get uniform huskings, use a grid or graph paper so you know where to place the pins every time.

pins in a straight line for Straight Husking --->

pins in a fan shape for Fan Shaped Husking --->

learn about fan-shaped husking

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introduction to quilling

learns how to coils and scrolls

tools & supplies

simple quilling projects

back to Origami

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