Paper quilling has gained popularity in recent years among hobby crafters. Many have taken this hobby to a profession and earned a decent income.
But what is Quilling Art? Why it is so popular? What tools are required for quilling art? We will learn about all this here in this article.
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What Is Quilling Art? What Is Paper Quilling?
Quilling art is a form of art that involves rolling, looping, curling, twisting, or in other words manipulating thin paper strips into different shapes. You need to glue the paper strips once you manipulate those into your desired shape.
You can create 2D art as well as 3D art using Quilling Paper Strips. Quilling designs can be used to decorate cards, pictures, and boxes, and also to make artificial jewelry.
Quilling art can be tedious for newbies but can be mastered in a week. You need regular practice to be an expert in this craft culture.
Where Does The Name Quill Come From?
Quill or Quille is an anglicized version of the Irish surname ” Ó Cuill” Coll, Coill, and O’Coill (Ó Coill), all of which means wood, forest, or shrub Hazel Tree. The Coill clan is believed to be a bardic family from Munster, particularly Kerry and Cork. The Irish surname has also been Anglicised as Woods.
Tools Required For Quilling Arts: Quilling Tools
Below are a few of the tools that are required to start a quilling art project. There could be many other tools, but these are the basic tools that you need.
Quilling Paper
Quilling art is all about quilling the quilling papers. Right? So the first thing you need is the quilling paper.
Quilling papers are thin paper strips that can be given different shapes using different tools to create decorative art.
The width of quilling paper strips can vary from 1 mm to 25 mm. The thickness of the quilling paper strips is as thin as printing paper but not as thick as photo paper.
Quilling Needle / Slotted Tool
The quilling needle is the very basic tool that you will need to roll the paper strips into coils. The tip can be made of steel or copper. Copper is better as it would be rusted.
The base is made of either wood, metal, or plastic. Depending on the grip you need, you can choose the one.
You can also buy an automatic quilling needle tool that will drastically save you time in making coils.
Quilling Board
The quilling board is an essential tool to make domes for quilling jewelry. It comes in different sizes and the dome size also varies.
Quilling boards are mostly made of wood, however, plastic boards are also available.
Quilling Border Buddy
You can use Border Buddy to create different-sized cones or cylindrical shapes. The tool comes in different stepped sizes so that it is easy for you to create different sizes easily.
Quilling Coach
A quilling coach is a handy tool for new crafters to support the quilling needle when they make coils. It ensures that the coil does not get distorted while you make the coil.
It also has slots to make quilling domes similar to quilling boards.
Quilling Crimper
A quilling crimper is useful for creating zigzag patterns on quilling paper strips which are useful for creating beautiful quilling craft products. This is an easy-to-use tool where you can detach the gear level for your convenience.
Quilling Mold
Quilling mold is a perfect tool to make uniform and precise domes. Quilling domes are the basic structural element of any quilling jewelry, especially quilling earrings.
Apart from these tools, you will also need Glue and tweezers to apply glue. Many of these tools can be found in the automatic version. However, you can only master your quilling art when you use manual tools.
Conclusion: Quilling Art
Quilling art can be very interesting and you can practice it during your free time as a stress buster. You can also engage your kids to do quilling so that their creativity can be boosted.
You can take sessions and teach people how to do quilling. That way, you will be engaged and can earn a good amount of money. You can also sell your quilling art in marketplaces and make a living out of it.