Hello! Welcome to the first installment in a new series: Floral Quilling 101. Over the next several months, we’ll look at the different kinds and styles of flowers you can make with quilling paper.
Today’s focus is one of my favorites: the daisy!

If you don’t know how to quill, that’s ok. We can learn as we go. Quilling can range from simple designs to intricate works of art. For now, we’re going to start small.
The Basics
So to make a daisy, you will need a few supplies.

- A slotted or needle quilling tool. Slotted tools are a little bit easier to work with when you’re starting, so that’s what I’ll use today. Later in our series, we will look at some needle and hand quilling.
- 1/8” (3mm) quilling paper; colors are your choice. You can purchase precut quilling strips online and in some craft supply stores or cut your own from 60lb-80lb text-weight paper. It’s like thick copy paper (although for practicing, copy paper is fine). Don’t use cardstock; it will buckle and split.
- Your favorite craft glue. I like Bearly Arts brand and also Aleene’s Tacky Glue, but any liquid adhesive with a good tack will work well.
- Tweezers. Not required, but indeed helpful.
Floral Quilling: Making Shapes
In addition to those supplies, you’ll also need to know how to make teardrop and tight coil quilling shapes. So let’s take a look at those now.
Tight Coil
Tight coils are pretty straightforward. You insert the end of your paper into the slot of your tool, then roll it up. The tension is always controlled, and you seal the end of your paper strip with a tiny dab of glue before releasing the tension.

Tip: Use as little glue as possible when sealing your coils. You don’t want big ol’ gobs of yuck visible on your lovely designs.
I’m using an 8” (20cm) length of yellow quilling paper to make this tight coil. It will be the center of our daisy.
Teardrop
Next, we’re going to make a loose coil. You make it in the same fashion as the tight coil, except when you get to the end of your paper strip, you let go. Releasing the tension allows the coil to unfurl. Then, you glue down your end and pinch one side to make the shape.

You’ll want to make seven of these for your petals. Again, I’m using an 8” (20cm) length of white quilling paper.
Tip: Don’t worry if your coil pops open like a spring. Tension control takes a little time to learn. You can adjust it gently using your fingers before gluing.
As an aside, there are a few ways you can shape a teardrop. Here are some examples:

Assembling The Quilled Daisy
After all the pieces of our daisy are made, it’s time to put it together. There are a few different ways that people who quill assemble their designs. The most common way is with pins, wax paper, and a cork sheet.
Do you need all that? Not really. Since the pieces don’t need to be pinned in an exact spot, we will assemble them on our craft mat. But if you do happen to have a sheet of cork and some stick pins, it will give you a little more control in shaping your flower.

For today, though, I’m just going to freestyle the daisy.
I call this the ol’ “dot and dab” method. Dot your glue on scratch paper, dab your quilling shape in the glue and stick it in place.

Once the petals are all in place, let your daisy sit for a few mins to dry. Run a pin underneath it to ensure it’s not stuck to your work surface.
Variations
Here are a few different ways to dress up your daisy.
Sparkle – You can never go wrong with glitter. Wink of Stella pens are great for this. It’s hard to see it here, but check out the featured image at the top of this article.

Ink – Add ink with a dauber to mimic different species of daisies. Here, I used Distress Oxide Ink in Work Lipstick.

Punched Leaves – Always a lovely texture combo with a quilled flower.

Project Idea
Here’s an idea for using your daisy (or daisies) in a card project! The sentiment is foiled in matte gold, although you’d never tell from the lighting.

Next month, we will introduce some different types of quilled leaves so you can build complete floral quilling designs.

Enjoy working on floral quilling! Tag me at @tealkatdesign on any social media platform; I would love to see your designs!

Niki Coursey is from Texas, US. Niki has been writing for TPC since 2022. Niki started paper crafting in 2014 and she mostly makes cards and do some quilling projects. Her paper projects are often made in Clean and Simple or an Artsy style.