Quilling is a craft art form in which strips of paper are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.

It is believed that quilling began shortly after paper was invented in China around 105 AD, and evolved from earlier metal filigree techniques practiced in ancient Egypt and Greece, who coiled thin metal wires into decorative shapes.

By the 13th century, declining access to precious metals led European artisans to substitute gilded paper for metal filigree. With the advent paper mills in England around 1495, quilling emerged as a craft in its own right.

Between the 1200s and 1600s, French and Italian nuns repurposed gilt-edged pages from Holy books, wrapping torn paper strips around goose quills to adorn reliquaries and altar pieces, the practice that gave the art its name.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, quilling flourished among upper-class ladies in England, filling recessed panels on tea caddies, screens, and furniture as both decoration and a signal of leisured refinement.

After a mid-19th century ebb, quilling kits such as William Bemrose's "Mosaicon" (1875) briefly renewed interest in the craft, but it soon retreated into schoolroome exercises until the 1970s and 1980s resurgence led by the American Quilling Guild and renewed museum exhibitions worldwide.

Quilling is inherently linked to the evolution of paper. Early materials included papyrus and parchment made from animal skins, but true paper, from the plant pulp, originated in China and spread to Europe by the 12th century through Arabic mills in Baghdad.

Today, quillers use acid-free, colorfast text-weight paper strips, typically 3 mm to 10 mm wide, and the ideal weight falls between 65 lb and 80 lb text weight for optimal coil retention and flexibility. Notebook paper is too flimsy for tight coils, and construction paper is too stiff and prone to creasing. Handmade paper or vellum is sometimes used, as texture adds sculptural interest, but its use is rare.

A basic quilling workspace can be set up for minimal cost. Essential tools include a slotted quilling tool for rolling tight coils, a needle tool for precision shaping without center creases, a craft tweezers for handling delicate shapes, a fine-tip glue applicator or a needle-nose bottle, and a cork board with pins to anchor coils during assembly. All of these items are easily affordable for most people.

Quilling's minimal material requirements and modular skills make it accessible to beginners of all ages. Rolling, shaping, and gluing strips offers a meditative, low-stress introduction to paper craft without the need for specialized training.

Community support, from local craft groups to the North American Quilling Guild, provides tutorials, templates, and accreditation programs, helping quillers advance from simple coils to complex filigree sculptures.

The historical heartlands for the art of quilling include England, France, and Italy, where nuns and aristocrat ladies pioneered the craft through the Renaissance and Georgian eras. By the 19th century, quilling had crossed into North America, where guilds and exhibitions in Canada and the United States nurtured a modern revival that spread to Australia, Japan, and beyond through online communities and social media platforms.

Several online resources may be found below.

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