How to Make a Quilling Pen

Quilling can be done by children or adults.

Quilling is the craft of twisting paper into assorted shapes. Using a quilling pen lets you tightly wrap the pieces of thin paper into your desired shape without creasing the edges. When the paper has been tightly wrapped, it has a tendency to hold its shape, allowing you to affix it to a mat backing with glue. Quilling pens are available from hobby and craft suppliers, but you can also make your own quilling pens to ensure you have exactly the size and shape that is most comfortable for you.

Things You'll Need

• Wood saw
• Dowel rod
• Tack hammer
• Safety glasses
• Dremel tool
• Dremel cutoff blade
• Seamstress' pins
• Sandpaper

Instructions

1. Hold the dowel rod carefully on a solid work surface. Use the wood saw to cut it to the length you want. Typically, quilling pen handles are 4 to 7 inches long, but select a length that you are comfortable with.

2. Hold the seamstress' pin against one end of the cut dowel rod with the point of the pin positioned at the center of the dowel.

3. Tap the pin into the end of the dowel with the tack hammer, being careful to not bend the pin. If you attempt to drive it too much at once, it will bend and have to be removed. Pine dowel rods do not have to be pre-drilled before driving the pin into place. Leave about a half-inch of the pin sticking out of the end of the dowel.

4. Put on your safety glasses. Turn on the Dremel tool. Use it to cut the end off of the pin so there is a straight, thin rod protruding out from the end of the dowel. Use a piece of sandpaper to smooth the tip so the paper won't snag on it.

Tips & Warnings

• To use the quilling pen, simply wrap the paper tightly around the metal pin. The paper will conform to the curl it is being formed into.

References

• "Art of Paper Quilling: Designing Handcrafted Gifts and Cards"; Claire Sun-ok Choi; 2007