Quilling Stars

5 different types of quilled stars and how to make them

This year I wanted to make a Christmas ornament with an angel and star. So I decided to start with the simplest part: the star. But what type of star?

I usually begin by making a prototype, so here I'll walk you through five different prototypes and how they were made.

Paper

All of these were made with 1/4 inch strips (6mm) that came in a premade pack, 16 inches long, 50 pieces.

Yes, I have cut my own strips, but I'm all for quick short cuts when I can get them.

Border Filled Star

These are fun to make in two simple steps.

• First, make six borders.
• Second, fill the borders with swirls.

The borders take a little talent and can be done by adults or teens. Children can help make the swirls.

Supplies for Border Filled Stars

I used the border buddy to make the outline. I used the largest size square at the bottom of the border buddy. While, it takes a little extra work, the results are best if you apply the thinnest, smallest, tiniest, itsy-bitsiest amount of glue between each layer. After applying the glue with a toothpick or quilling tool, pull the strip tightly across the next layer - but not so tight you tear your paper.

This will be a tough star to make if you don't have a border buddy, but if you have a small square box or shape you might be able to make it.

I used the Grid Guide to help glue the six pieces to keep them symmetrical. The Grid Guide isn't essential, but I have found it so helpful for any round projects like stars, snowflakes, and flowers.

How to Fill Your Borders

You can simply make lots of individual swirls to put inside the border. But here is an easier method.

• Use an 8 inch strip
• Fold it in half 3 times, so each fold is 1 inch in length
• Straighten it out, then refold it so each it forms a fan shape (strip on top)
• Use the quilling tool to roll each strip (it will be a double thickness of paper.)
• In the end, you will have four swirls from one eight inch strip.
• It will take two to three strips to fill one border.
• Sculpt the swirls into your border. If you have empty spaces, you may fill it with single swirls or double scrolls.

Marquise Star

Simple Shape for Kids or Beginners

The marquise is a familiar shape to all quillers.

Above I have two different sizes, one made on the "0" circle (1" or 25mm) and one made on the "1" circle (7/8 inch or 18mm.)

Both were made with 16 inch strips. You can see how much less filled the larger circle is when using the same length of paper.

In my personal opinion, these stars look a little too much like flowers. (And most quillers have made lots and lots of marquise flowers.) However, their simplicity make them an easy shape for kids or beginners who would like to make some stars for their Christmas tree.

Double-Comb Star

This star requires a quilling comb. Though it is possible to make with any comb, the combs made for quilling will make it easier.

You may have noticed in these pictures I use a lot of Creative Quilling supplies. They are not the only ones who make quilling supplies, but I do use them a lot. They have just about everything and a wide variety of papers.

The Creative Quilling Comb also has a picture of the star right on their package as you can see in the picture. I made five double-sided symmetrical comb shapes and used the grid to glue them together.

I ran into some difficulty connecting these stars. There are basically two choices:

• Connect them in the front. This leaves a gap in the center. I put a piece of yellow paper behind it.
• Leave the end of the strip and layer the strips.

This would take some experimenting if I wanted to make lots of these. I think I would use the top option and put something shiny in the middle (even glitter or a bit of craft store bling.)

It is not hard to make these shapes, but I have not conquered the perfect way to combine them into the final star.

Just for comparison, you can see the difference in size with the stars made with 1/4 inch (6mm) paper or 1/8 inch (3mm)paper.

6 Pointed Layered Star

Here is one of my favorites. It is a little complicated, so I will walk you through it. For better directions, see the youtube video "Galaxy Stars" by "Karen Marie Glip." (I would put a live link to her video, but dead links mess up a site.)

On the comb, you are going to make loops on the 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 teeth. Make sure you put the smallest bit of glue possible at the top of each loop.

The pictures below, walk through it. Sorry, I had to switch to white paper because I finally ran out of yellow.

After looping around tooth #2, come up behind tooth #4.

Repeat the process, coming up at tooth 6, then tooth 8, then tooth 10. Place a tiny bit of glue in the back, and tear off the rest of the paper.

It takes approximately 12 inches of paper to make this, but I don't tear it until I'm done so I don't run out of paper.

Gently pull the strip off the comb. It will look like the picture above. Let the glue dry for a minute or two before reshaping for best effects.

Here's where it gets a bit trickly. You are going to press the shape in the opposite direction. Do it slowly, making sure that each layer is completely centered before putting any pressure on it. The tendence is for the layers to want to stick upward rather than sideways, which will not turn out the way you want.

Continue pressing inward, catching each layer right at the center point.

Here's your flattened star point. It is now pressed in the opposite direction as it was when you slid it off the comb.

Slowly press it back in the opposite direction (the direction it was when it was slid off the comb.)

Now you have the first of the six points for your star.

It is definitely a help to have the Grid Guide when gluing the star together.

Bethlehem Star

The Bethlehem Star is fairly easy to make. The larger star on the left was made with four diamond shaped pieces. The three smaller shapes used the #2 circle and the larger used the #0 circle.

The smaller star used three of the #4 circles and one piece from the #2 circle.

Crimp the Stream of Light

In this final 4-pointed Bethlehem Star, I put a strip of paper through the crimper and used it to make the streams of light radiating out from the stars edges. I wasn't happy with this look, but may experiment further to get what I wanted.

The Final Star

So after all of that, I finally accomplished my original goal: to find the type of star I wanted on a quilled angel.

And now, I need to experiment on a prototype for an angel!

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