Three Easy Ways to Hide Your Quilling Seams and Make Your Art Look More Professional
When I am working on a piece of quilling, I don't like to see the seam where the end of the paper strip is glued to the coil and try to avoid showing these seams when I can.
Picky? Perhaps, but I think it gives the quilling a more polished appearance.
I have been using three tricks for years to help minimize the tell-tale seam left behind when making quills from loose coils.
1.
Tear the end of your paper strip.
Make sure that the end of the paper strip you glue down is torn so that the fibers blend into the coil.
If you glue down a cut edge, the strip ends abruptly and the seam is much more noticeable.
2.
Hide the seam while shaping the coil.
There are two ways to hide the seams when making shaped coils (teardrops, marquises, squares, etc.
).
The first method is to pinch the coil into the shape so that the glued end of the paper is even with the pinched edge.
This gives a beautiful finish to the coil.
For example, when creating a teardrop shape, turn the coil in your fingers so that as you pinch it into shape, the glued edge of the paper is at the tip where it all but disappears.
This is the method that I use 99% of the time.
However, if I know that the seam will be covered by another paper strip, such as a flower bud covered with a paper stem, I pinch the teardrop bud with the seam at the bottom.
3.
Hide the seams while assembling the design.
When possible, glue the seam ends or sides of your coils to each other as you assemble your quillwork.
For example, if you are creating a flower from marquise coils, glue the tips with the pinched ends together to form the center.
When combining a coil and a scroll, such as a marquise coil placed inside a V-scroll (a very common combination in quilling), glue the seam end of the marquise inside the fold of the V-scroll to hide it.
If you are gluing two loose coils together, try and turn the coils so that as one coil ends, the next one seems to begin, like an S-scroll only in two pieces.
This gives the illusion of one continuous strip of paper with no seam showing.
If you are new to quilling, using these simple techniques will help you take your quilling to the next level.
Remember -- it's all in the details.
Picky? Perhaps, but I think it gives the quilling a more polished appearance.
I have been using three tricks for years to help minimize the tell-tale seam left behind when making quills from loose coils.
1.
Tear the end of your paper strip.
Make sure that the end of the paper strip you glue down is torn so that the fibers blend into the coil.
If you glue down a cut edge, the strip ends abruptly and the seam is much more noticeable.
2.
Hide the seam while shaping the coil.
There are two ways to hide the seams when making shaped coils (teardrops, marquises, squares, etc.
).
The first method is to pinch the coil into the shape so that the glued end of the paper is even with the pinched edge.
This gives a beautiful finish to the coil.
For example, when creating a teardrop shape, turn the coil in your fingers so that as you pinch it into shape, the glued edge of the paper is at the tip where it all but disappears.
This is the method that I use 99% of the time.
However, if I know that the seam will be covered by another paper strip, such as a flower bud covered with a paper stem, I pinch the teardrop bud with the seam at the bottom.
3.
Hide the seams while assembling the design.
When possible, glue the seam ends or sides of your coils to each other as you assemble your quillwork.
For example, if you are creating a flower from marquise coils, glue the tips with the pinched ends together to form the center.
When combining a coil and a scroll, such as a marquise coil placed inside a V-scroll (a very common combination in quilling), glue the seam end of the marquise inside the fold of the V-scroll to hide it.
If you are gluing two loose coils together, try and turn the coils so that as one coil ends, the next one seems to begin, like an S-scroll only in two pieces.
This gives the illusion of one continuous strip of paper with no seam showing.
If you are new to quilling, using these simple techniques will help you take your quilling to the next level.
Remember -- it's all in the details.
