Paper quilling — also called paper filigree — is the art of rolling, bending, and shaping thin strips of paper into coils and then arranging those coils into decorative patterns. The technique dates back to Renaissance Europe, where monks and nuns used quilled paper strips to decorate religious objects as an inexpensive alternative to gold filigree metalwork. Today quilling is practised worldwide, ranging from simple greeting card decorations to extraordinarily complex three-dimensional sculptures. Despite the delicate, intricate appearance of the finished work, quilling is genuinely accessible to beginners — the tools are inexpensive, the materials cheap, and the basic shapes take only minutes to learn. Explore more paper art projects in our Paper Crafts category.
What You Will Need
- Quilling strips: Pre-cut paper strips, 3 mm or 5 mm wide, sold in packs. Alternatively, cut your own strips from coloured copy paper using a craft knife and ruler.
- Quilling tool: A slotted quilling tool (a thin rod with a slot at the tip) is the easiest for beginners. A toothpick works as a free alternative.
- PVA glue or craft glue: A small amount with a fine-tipped applicator for precise placement.
- Scissors
- A quilling board or cork board: For holding and sizing your coils while they dry. A ruler also works.
- Tweezers: Extremely helpful for placing small coils precisely.
- Cardstock or a card blank: The background your finished quilling design will be mounted on.
Before you begin, use our Measurement Converter if you need to convert strip widths or design dimensions between mm and inches — quilling patterns from different countries often use different units.
Project Info
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Time: 1–2 hours for a small greeting card design
- Cost: $5–$10 for a starter kit
The Five Basic Quilling Shapes
Everything in quilling is built from variations of these five foundational coil shapes:
1. Tight Coil
Slot the end of a paper strip into your quilling tool and roll the strip tightly all the way to the end, keeping even tension throughout. Slide the coil off the tool and immediately apply a tiny drop of glue to the free end to seal it closed. Do not allow it to unwind — press the end firmly and hold for 10 seconds. Used for flower centres, berries, and solid circular elements.
2. Loose Coil
Roll the strip as above, but allow it to unwind slightly after removing it from the tool before gluing the end. The amount you allow it to unwind determines the size of the loose coil. Used as a base shape for many other forms.
3. Teardrop
Make a loose coil, then pinch one side firmly between your thumb and forefinger to create a pointed end while keeping the other end rounded. Used for petals, leaves, and feather shapes.
4. Marquise (Eye Shape)
Make a loose coil, then pinch both opposite sides simultaneously to form two points. The result looks like an eye or leaf outline. Used for leaves, eye shapes, and geometric patterns.
5. Square
Make a marquise shape, then rotate it 90 degrees and pinch two more points. The result is a small square or diamond. Used in geometric designs and borders.
Your First Project: A Quilled Flower Card
A single flower made from 5–7 teardrop-shaped petals surrounding a tight coil centre is the ideal first quilling project. Here is how to make it:
- Make 6 teardrop shapes in your chosen petal colour — use strips about 30 cm long for each.
- Make 1 tight coil in a contrasting colour for the flower centre — use a strip about 15 cm long.
- On your background cardstock, arrange the 6 teardrops in a circle with pointed ends outward and rounded ends meeting in the centre.
- Apply a tiny dot of glue to the flat base of each teardrop and press them onto the background, checking the spacing is even.
- Apply glue to the base of your tight coil centre and press it into the middle of the petal arrangement.
- Make 2–3 marquise shapes in green for leaves and glue them alongside the flower at natural angles.
- Allow everything to dry completely — at least 20 minutes.
Mount your finished quilling design on a card blank for a stunning handmade greeting card. Our Handmade Greeting Cards tutorial has five card base techniques that work perfectly as backgrounds for quilling designs.
Building Complexity
Once you are comfortable with the five basic shapes, try combining them: a wreath of teardrop petals; a scrolled vine using open coils; a butterfly using marquise wings; or a geometric mandala pattern using repeated marquise and square shapes. Quilling is endlessly scalable — the same techniques that make a small flower on a card also make a large framed wall art piece.
Framing Your Quilling
For a finished wall art piece, mount your quilling on a piece of coloured cardstock inside a deep (box) picture frame — the extra depth prevents the glass from crushing your raised paper coils. Shadow box frames work particularly well. Plan your framed quilling project using our Craft Project Planner to map out your design, materials list, and time estimate before you begin.
For more creative paper projects, explore the DIY Crafts category or try our Origami Crane tutorial — origami and quilling complement each other beautifully in mixed-media paper art.
