Quilling is a rapidly gaining popularity all over the world art of creating various things from curled paper. This type of needlework does not require large financial costs and unusual abilities. Even children can do quilling.
Quilling is the art of twisting long narrow strips of multi-colored paper into spirals, modifying their shape and creating various paintings and volumetric compositions on the basis of the resulting blanks (modules). Paper is a material that is rarely used in creativity due to its fragility and fragility, but quilling-style products refute this long-held belief - from collected paper elements you can make excellent coasters for books and tea cups, while none of the paper curls will suffer, and wonderful candy bowls will perfectly keep their shape and decorate the table with their extraordinary appearance.
The history of quilling
The quilling technique originated in medieval Europe at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. The word quilling comes from the English "quill", which literally means "bird feather". It was this simple device that was originally used as the main tool for curling paper strips. According to history, the first products in the quilling style were medallions made of gilded paper, surprisingly accurately resembling jewelry made of the finest precious lace. Unfortunately, given the fragility of the material, the ancient masterpieces have not survived to this day.
In the 15th century, quilling was a favorite type of needlework in the homes of aristocrats. In the 19th century, interest in the art of paper rolling began to gradually decline due to the emergence of more progressive forms of art, and soon quilling was forgotten. Interest in ancient technology aroused only in the second half of the 20th century, when quilling became a popular handicraft in many European countries, especially in the UK and Germany. However, quilling reached its greatest prosperity and recognition in the countries of Asia. Unlike European authors, who prefer laconic images, Asian quilling masters create works that are distinguished by the complexity of the composition and many details. Thus, the work of the Korean school of quilling is comparable in complexity and accuracy to works of jewelry.
In Europe, plastic or metal sticks with a split end are used to twist strips, while in the East, paper is twisted using a thin sewing awl.
Quilling paper and other tools
To master the paper-rolling technique, you will need an awl with a diameter of about 1 mm, scissors with pointed noses, tweezers with sharp ends, glue (ordinary PVA is optimal) and strips of colored paper. To mark up future compositions, you should purchase a ruler, compasses, a simple pencil and an eraser.
When making strips on your own, you should take into account the importance of the weight of the paper, which should be at least 60 grams per 1 sq. M. Otherwise, the workpieces may curl poorly and lose their shape.
In quilling, double-sided colored paper is traditionally used, the standard stripe width is 3-7 mm. You can buy sets of paper for quilling in any store specializing in the sale of materials for hand-made, or place an order through the online store. You can prepare blanks yourself by cutting sheets of colored paper with scissors or passing them through a document shredder.
