Every quilling artist had his/her own favorite tools that they use on a daily basis and consider necessary. Here are mine! (the tools in the photo above are my actual tools that I bought years ago, and still use. Click here to read a post about each of them and why I use them).
- Slotted quilling tool – this is the most basic quilling tool and the one I use most often. I like the ones with longer handles that have a soft grip, as they are more comfortable to use.
- Needle tool – this multipurpose tool can be used to twirl paper with a very tiny center, to help get your coils in just the right place in a design, to apply glue in tiny places, lift up designs when they are kind of stuck to your work board, and much more. Wouldn’t be without it! Of course a toothpick can be used if you donor have one, but a needle tool is much skinner and longer.
- Fine tip tweezers – I did without fine tip tweezers for many years. When I finally bought a pair I couldn’t believe what I had been missing! Finally it was SO easy to hold onto delicate shapes, place coils into a design, and more.
- Circle sizing board – whether you make your own or purchase one, a circle sizing guide or board is necessary if you want all of your pieces to be the same size (all petals in a flower for example).
- Cork workboard– when making quilled designs it is often necessary to pin the pieces down so that they dry in the right position. You can buy a special quilling cork board or just get any cork board from a craft or stationary shop. I have one from Lake City Craft that I have had for almost 18 years and it is still in excellent shape! Even if you don’t need to pin a thing you’ll need a place to rest your design, and a plastic covered workboard is the easiest!
There are more tools and supplies that I use when quilling, but these are the top 5 that I use almost every single time I do any project. The only one in this list that I don’t use *every* time is the circle guide. Sometimes you don’t need any pieces that are *exactly* the same size. But I use it often enough that it is indispensable to me.
What tools do you find that you reach for every single time you do your quilling?
Feel free to leave any comments or questions, and stick around to view some more great pages here!
Click here to view free paper quilling tutorials!
Click here to view paper quilling tips and tricks!
Click here to view a list of places to buy quilling supplies around the world!
Click here to view some of my own quilling projects, with tips so you can make your own if you’d like!
*All products and supplies in this post I purchased and/or made on my own.
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Very short but much needed post 🙂 Honey do you think needle tip precision glue dispenser is a must have? I dont own one and I use normal conical glue bottles and I find it messy for small projects ( huge amount of glue to deal with!) If youve been using fine tip glue dispenser do let me know if its a must have 🙂
Hi Angela 🙂 Actually, the needle tip glue bottle is going to be in my next post of my *almost* necessary quilling tools! I LOVE using my fine tip glue bottle and I DO use it every single time. But for some reason I felt inclined to keep the list to 5 and for a beginner it works well enough to use a glue blog and toothpick, so I didn’t feel that it was quite as necessary. But yes, I love less wasted glue by using the fine tip glue bottle!! I’d definitely recommend it!
I have a tip for all who use a slotted tool. My slot does not go all the way to the handle. I have trouble keeping my rolling straight so I took 2 flat buttons and glued them together with flat sides out. I use this to keep my rolls flat, and it is easier to remove roll from the tool. I got this idea from the spacer that came on my battery operated rolling tool. Works great with my arthritic fingers. Good luck using this. Love, Peggy
Thanks for your tip! There is an “ultimate quilling tool” that comes with a spacer like that. I haven’t tried it yet, but plan to.