I have had many people mention that they can look at photos, clip art, or pictures and cannot quite seem to picture how the quilled shapes would fall into place for a project. You have been there too, I would guess: sitting at your table with a whole pile of pretty colored paper, glue and pins ready to go and not a single idea to help it come together.

Finally, our quilling comb has been added to the shop! Not sure what to do with it besides pin your hair up? Here is a little how to with some examples to get you experimenting...

First off, cascades. It's a little different than traditional quilling in that the strips are folded over one another instead of being coiled... kind of like a flat husking. The plus point is that it adds interest to your quillwork when used as a portion of the design... but becomes rather boring to look at if the entire design is made of cascades. For example, a quilled angel decoration is so much more visually interesting when cascades are used for the wings only, as opposed to the decoration made with a cascade gown also.

So, how do we go about making cascades? It's easy...




Start at the bottom tooth of your comb. The simplest way to start off is to finger quill a very small loop, the same way you would start a coil, and glue it shut. Now, holding the comb sideways, hook this loop onto the bottom tooth and draw your strip up. Which tooth you loop your strip over depends on how tall you need your cascade. Bring it back down and loop under your starting point.

The next thing you need to decide is whether you need a half cascade or a whole one. A whole cascade is done just like a husking, in a side to side looping motion and is good for leaves, angel gowns, quilt block patterns, etc. Half cascades are good for angel and butterfly wings, baskets, and you guessed it...is made the same way as you would if you were doing only one side of a husking.

Some examples:

Now, what else are quilling combs good for? If you're making a project that requires impeccable symmetry, they're fantastic for creating matching wheatears. To do this, make a finger roll a little loop, the same way you did to start off a cascade and hook this onto the first tooth again. Holding the comb with the points facing you, loop your paper over every second or third tooth and bring it back down to loop under. Space your loops closer for a short wheatear, and wider (for example, every sixth tooth) for longer ones. Long wheatears are good for sprays and stems in floral patterns, while short ones make a beautiful contrasting leaf.

Now that you have the knack of how a quilling comb can be a great addition to your tools, don't be afraid to experiment! If you have a very busy schedule, cascades and wheatears can really give your projects a sense of complicity, even if you spent less time than usual creating them; and the contrast of the shapes make your patterns even more aesthetically pleasing to look at.

In keeping with the notion that quilling is not considered an art unless it is gilded with a precious or semi precious metal (see my previous post), this past weekend I decided to give gilding a try. It was an eye opening experience, not to mention a messy one... unfortunately, I tend to wear all my projects. There are so many ways to gild a piece of creativity; I was unsure how to go about it.

For those of you that are not sure what I mean by gilding, it is the process of applying metal leaf to a project. Metal leaf usually is available in gold, silver, and copper and is incredibly thin and delicate. You can also get imitation leaf in those same colors, plus a few more - including pewter - because there is no real metal in them.


I went to the local craft store to see what they had in stock. They did indeed have both real metal and imitation leaf... but what I was not ready for was the different ways to apply it. There was a wax that you applied with your fingers, a liquid solution, a self adhering leaf, and of course the traditional kind which required a plethora of chemical solutions. The wax, however, did not have any metal in it... so that was out of the question, as was the self adhering leaf, for the same reason.


The liquid and traditional leaf did have metal present in the composition; the kicker for me was that the liquid was tarnish resistant and seemed easier to apply to quilling than the sheets of leaf, so that's what I brought home. It was classic gold, although the solution was made with a derivative of copper.

The project I chose to experiment on was a wooden frame I had decorated with quillwork for my mother in law. It was something simple so if I messed up, I could redo it easily. First thing I did was seal it with an matte acrylic spray to protect the paper, as I had no idea what effect the solution would have on a porous material. I tried applying it with a brush first, but the solution dried so fast that I barely had time to get it on the coils - a sponge brush was not good, either. A linen rag worked well... the leaf was oily enough that you could rub it on.

A word of caution... use gloves! I found this out the hard way after the liquid soaked through my rag. And the only thing that removes it is xylene... or thinner for car paint. But the result is so nice that all the scrubbing was worth it. The metal powder in the solution was so fine that the coverage was amazing... there was no need for a second coat unless you wanted to. And the shimmer was beautiful; it immediately lit up the coils and scrolls so that you could notice every loop. If you put it on thickly on your pegs, they look like solid pieces and become a great contrast to the open quilling shapes.

I used a tan colored quilling paper, so it tended to blend in with the gold leaf and made it look as if the quillwork was totally gilded. In essence, I think the gold leaf enhanced the quilling itself and made the finished piece more visually pleasing to look at. I don't think I would purchase gold edged quilling paper again... leaf is so much brighter and customizable, even though it is a little more work.

I especially like that I can control the thickness of the application; the thicker gilded portions actually look like real metal filigree, and prompted me to wonder if my gilding resembled the work of the European nuns centuries ago.


Things that I learned about using liquid to gild quilling:

• Messy, but fun


• Use gloves


• You should probably go outside to do it the first time, if you're a bit of a klutz like me


• Seal your work with acrylic spray before you gild


• Very traditional looking; seems nicer than ungilded quillwork for framed pieces


• Fingers or a linen rag work best


• Gild your quilling before you mount it on anything, the liquid is very watery


• A fine paintbrush is good if you need to get into little spaces

This week I will try my hand at using the sheets of gold leaf to gild my quillwork, and I will post a comparison. I'm still trying to clean the liquid gold leaf off my nails :)