Paper Quilling for Beginners: 6 Tips & Tutorials

Paper Quilling for Beginners | HGTV Handmade

This video tutorial is super easy for anyone looking to get started with paper quilling. The Crafty Lumberjacks walk you through the steps to create a gorgeous art piece.

Quick Tips for Neater Quilling | The Papery Craftery

Tiny pieces of paper and glue can get frustrating and can also make a big mess. Avoid disaster and get the neat results you’re looking for with these handy quick tips.

35 Paper Quilling Shapes | HandiWorks

Who knew you could create so many different shapes? You’ll learn to make 35 different paper coil shapes that are designed for beginners.

Quick Tips for Neater Quilling | The Papery Craftery

This video goes over ways to make your paper quills a little bit neater, a little bit cleaner, and easier to work with.

Quilling Glue | 5 Basic Tips to Avoid Showing Glue | Paper Zen

Paper quilling involves a lot of glue, which can get messy very quickly. Keep your designs need with these five glue tips.

Tips for On-Edge Quilling | The Papery Craftery

You’ll learn how to make on-edge quilling to finish off your designs beautifully. It can be tricky at first, but this video will show you how to manage it easier.

5 Paper Quilling Essentials to Invest In

Check out our list of 5 beginner tools and materials you should invest in before you start paper quilling.

• Quilling Board – A quilling board is designed to help you roll strips of paper into spirals. Most importantly, it allows you to create spirals that are the same size. This board features a pinhole grid as well as a horizontal slotted grid. It also allows you to store posts in a small pull-out drawer.
• Paper Quilling Tool – You’ll need a slotted paper quilling tool to help you roll up your paper strips. Simply place one end of the paper through the tool and turn it to create a neat coil. These slotted rollers are comfortable to hold and allow you to apply glue more evenly.
• Paper Quilling Strips – These pre-cut paper strips are made just for paper quilling. The lightweight paper is easy to roll and comes in a pack of 60 different colors. If you prefer to make your own strips, you can use a paper trimmer to cut your paper to 12 inch lengths and ⅛ inch wide.
• Liquid Glue – Liquid glue is what helps to hold your rolled coils in place and add paper edgings. The tip on this glue bottle allows for more precise and full coverage application.
• Piercer Tool or Toothpicks – If you’re using paper that is too thick for a slotted quilling tool, you can use a piercer tool or even a toothpick to help roll up your paper strips. Toothpicks are also great for applying glue to your paper and paper edges.

Paper Quilling for Beginners: 26 Tips and Tutorials to Get Started

Twirly, swirly, pieces of colorful paper made to look like flowers, snowflakes, leaves, butterflies, and more, paper quilling is the perfect choice for anyone who loves paper crafts. It’s been enjoyed by generations ever since the invention of paper.

There are lots of kits you can buy in stores, but we always love to get creative and make our designs at home. We’re covering paper quilling for beginners with these 26 helpful tips, tutorials, and projects.

Paper quilling tools

As seen in some of the products listed above, you may not always find a quilling kit that includes all the tools you need to complete a project.

And, of course, once you have a complete set of tools, you’ll be able to use them for lots of different creations!

Here is a list of the primary paper quilling tools you’ll need to take on this creative hobby:

Paper strips

For successful outcomes, projects should use paper strips with the same width size (3mm and 5mm are the most common measurements). Although this is a staple in any paper quilling kit, it’s good to know that you can purchase paper strip packs for a very affordable price online or at most craft stores.

Tweezers

The purpose of using tweezers in this crafting process is to hold paper coils together as you apply glue and/or to place pieces on surfaces with greater precision. Any fine-nosed tweezers will do the trick.

Quilling board

A quilling board features a range of slots in different sizes and shapes (commonly circles) and is used to measure the dimension or to shape your rolled paper into specific forms and designs. These are especially helpful if you’re working on a project that requires making multiple pieces of the same size.

Quilling needle

This tool features a metal nib with a small opening (imagine a needle with a fine slit), where you’ll slide the end of your paper strip. By gripping the tool’s handle and twirling it, the paper strip will twist until formed into a perfectly shaped coil. Sometimes these tools are double-ended and feature a tip used for embossing.

Glue

There’s no need to get fancy with this one; ordinary craft PVA glue will do. However, a precision tip bottle will make applying glue more manageable and controlled. The idea is to add just a dab of glue to seal each paper coil.

That’s it for our guide to the best paper quilling kits you can buy! Any advice for other intrepid crafters? Let everyone know in the comments below!