Quilling Crafts

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, jewelry, mobiles etc. Quilling starts with rolling a strip of paper into a coil and then pinching the coil into shapes that can be glued together. There are advanced techniques and different sized paper that are used to create 3D miniatures, abstract art, and quilled flowers among many things.

Many quilled art works can be found on cabinets and stands, cribbage boards, ladies' purses, a wide range of both pictures and frames, work baskets, tea caddies, coats of arms and wine coasters. Storage boxes, larger than most jewelry boxes with drawers and/or tops that opened, quilled lock boxes, and much more. Some items were specially designed for quilling with recessed surfaces. Quilling was also combined or married with other techniques such as embroidery and painting.

Today, quilling is seeing a resurgence in popularity with quillers (people who practice the art of quilling) on every continent and in every walk of life. No longer confined to the "upper classes", this is a peoples art form and the beauty of the art is always expanding thanks to innovators and rapidly growing number of quillers. Quilling is great for all ages thanks to the simplicity of the techniques and how relaxing it is. The craft has become increasingly popular due to the low cost of the material. It is used to decorate wedding invitations, for Christmas, birth announcements, greeting cards, scrapbook pages, and boxes. Quilling can be found in art galleries in Europe and in the United States and is an art that is practiced around the world.[4] One of the most well-known quilling artists in modern times is Russian artist, Yulia Brodskaya.

Quilling is relatively easy to learn compared to most other crafts, and with the resources available today, it can be learned by almost everyone. Basic quilling techniques can be learned almost anywhere and there are several videos online that can teach you how to start quilling. There are more exotic styles of quilling that aren't commonly taught, but can be learned through books that teach the specific style you are looking for.[6] Quilling is also a great craft for kids as it teaches them fine motor skills and is a great craft to train their hand-eye coordination. To see quilling used in the classroom, you can contact your child's school district.