Quilling, the art of creating designs from rolled, shaped and glued strips of paper, is an extremely popular craft at the moment. The design possibilities are endless and can be achieved with just a few basic quilling tools. Once you have your basic paper quilling tools you’ll be able to achieve hundreds of unique patterns and designs that you can use on cards and home decor projects. As well as your quilling papers, which come in a huge variety of colours and various widths, you only need a quilling tool, glue, scissors, tweezers and a quilling board to get you started. You’re likely to have some of these in your craft stash already.
You can purchase complete starter kits which have everything you need to get you started on your quilling journey without breaking the bank. Once you gain confidence in your quilling you may want to try creating shapes and designs using various other quilling tools. These include a quilling comb, a 3D dome mould, or a husking board complete with pins to help shape your creations. There are lots of quilling books too which have lots of ideas and templates to help take your quilling to the next level. If you want to add some dimension to your quilling papers you can use a quilling crimper to give texture to the papers before quilling, creating a whole new look. If you wish to speed up your quilling you can even get battery-operated quilling tools that can quill a paper strip in seconds.
Once you've got your papers and tools head over to our quilling ideas for beginners which include loads of fun projects for you to make.
Where to buy quilling tools
- Amazon has a huge array of paper quilling tools and quilling kits at very reasonable prices. Most can be shipped on next day delivery.
- Crafty Wizard is an online UK company that sells an array of colourful quilling papers, clever quilling papers with a self-adhesive end and various quilling tools.
- JJ Quilling Design has manufactured paper strips and kits for over forty years. The company has recently been taken over by the hugely popular Katy Sue Designs who will continue to manufacture their high-quality quilling strips in the UK
- If you would rather shop in-store for your quilling tools then Hobbycraft sells a small selection of basic quilling supplies including a quilling pen, paper strips and a quilling board.
Best Quilling Tools for beginners
Quilling papers
Quilling paper is one of the most important materials you'll need when it comes to quilling. There's a huge range of them on the market and you can choose whatever colour suits your crafting theme. These quilling papers come in 36 colours so are ideal for someone starting out in quilling. The 5mm width is a perfect starting width so they’re not too fiddly to roll and shape when practicing. There are 25 of each colour so plenty to get practicing with. This colour pack is perfect for making our quilling projects here on Gathered. Learn how to make a quilled butterfly and how to make quilled flowers with our free tutorials.
Quilling Tools
This quilling tool selection contains several slotted needle quilling tools which make quilling very easy. Simply place the end of a paper strip in the slot then start rolling. This kit also contains a needle tool which is a bit more fiddly to use but is good to use for finer projects. There are some useful thin-ended tweezers too which help when you need to adhere quilled shapes to a surface.
Quilling Glue
Most PVA glue works well for use in quilling but a quick-grab high strength glue will make the adhesion process quicker. This 300ml Dovecraft glue is great value and will last for numerous quilling projects.
For best results, decanter some glue into a fine tip applicator bottle. These small, easy to squeeze bottles have a super-fine tip to ensure a mess-free application to your quilling projects.
Quilling Board
This quilling board has a cork backing to allow you to pin quilled shapes into place while allowing the glue to dry. Simply coil a paper strip and place into one of the plastic moulds or use the larger cork work surface to create quilled designs.
Quilling Kit
This comprehensive paper quilling tool kit has everything you need to create numerous quilling projects. It includes 3mm and 5mm paper strips in lots of colours plus tools, a quilling board, quilling comb and 3D mould. There’s also a crimper, templates, pins and instructions.
Single-coloured quilling papers
Buy it now from JJ Quilting If you needed a certain colour of paper strip for a set of invitations for example then JJ Quilling have a very comprehensive selection in various widths. The paper strips come in either 100gsm or 120gsm so roll smoothly and can be shaped easily.
Quilling Book
Buy it now from Hobbcycraft This fun, modern book contains 20 projects with plenty of step-by-step instructions. There are projects for both beginners and those with some quilling experience. Designs include a cat, a cloud and a mermaid.
We hope you've enjoyed learning all about quilling tools. If you've enjoyed this papercraft then why not head over to our Cardmaking section? We have everything from easy origami for beginners to printable birthday cards and much more.
