Malaysian hygiene manager finds joy transforming strips of paper into intricate craft designs

Khor thinks quilling is easy because it is mainly the art of rolling pieces of paper together. Photos: Karen Khor Su Yen

As a hygiene manager in the hospitality industry, Karen Khor Su Yen spends about 10 hours at work each day. Her job involves ensuring that food safety systems are in place for customers.

The job is demanding, and after a long day at work, Khor unwinds by spending an hour quilling.

The art of quilling invloves rolling, crimping and coiling strips of paper, and glueing the shapes together to form decorative art.

Khor, who works in Kuala Lumpur, turns to quilling because she finds it relaxing and therapeutic.

Whenever she sees flowers, Khor’s starts thinking about how she can use her craft to transform strips of paper into pretty paper flowers.

“It is incredible how simple paper strips can be turned into 2D and 3D artworks, like petals, flowers and portraits. Literally, everything you set your eyes on can be quilled.

“Whenever I look at flowers, in my mind I start to work out how I can roll pieces of paper and transform them into pretty paper flowers. The art of quilling isn’t difficult to master and I enjoy it because it’s fun. Plus, it enables me to explore my creativity,” said Khor, 29.

The different quilling shapes are combined to make a beautiful craft piece.

Khor has been a quilling enthusiast for over a decade. But she has been spending a lot more time working on her quilling projects since the first movement control order in 2020 as it has helped her adapt to the new normal and the restrictions due to the pandemic.

“Like many people, I too turned to crafting during the pandemic. It provided me with a sense of calm. What I like best about quilling is it helps me be focussed and patient. This has been extremely beneficial and it has helped make me more efficient and disciplined.”

An ancient craft

Quilling or paper filigree is an ancient craft that can be traced to the 15th century. Historians believe this delicate craft was created by French and Italian nuns and was used to decorate religious objects.

Like other crafts such as cross-stitch, origami and embroidery, quilling has seen a resurgence during the pandemic, as people have tried to stay productive during the stay at home periods. The 2020 Covid-19 Social Study by the University College of London suggests that engaging in creative activities helps elevate a person’s mood during the pandemic. The research found that people who participated in arts-related activities for just 30 minutes a day reported lower rates of anxiety and depression.

In the last two years, Khor has shaped strips of coloured paper into hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful quilling creations.

Instead of worrying too much about the health crisis, Khor has kept herself busy indoors at home in Cheras where she lives with her parents. She’s shaped strips of coloured paper into hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful creations, including flowers, Christmas wreaths, alphabets, and animals.

Her artistic designs come in 2D artworks of animals, floral pieces, and typography. Her 3D artwork pieces are mainly paper wedding dolls, mini flower pots and floral-themed garden designs.

Khor reckons there has also been a surge in popularity in quilling thanks to social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

“During the pandemic, many people turned to social media to learn new skills. Quilling is generally easier because basic quilling involves mainly two techniques – rolling and shaping. Other paper artwork like scrapbooking, journaling and paper cutting can be more complicated as they involve more steps like cutting, folding and layering,” said Khor, who also indulges in journaling during her free time.

“There are many video tutorials on Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram where crafters can learn how to do quilling,” explained Khor, who turns to the Internet to read ebooks on quilling and floral design.

To get new ideas for her projects, she has joined Facebook group Contemporary Quilling. She is also a member of Britain’s The Quilling Guild so that she is updated on new trends.

Colourful scrolls

Khor was introduced to quilling in 2012 before pursuing her degree in food science at Kota Kinabalu’s Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

“My friends and I travelled to Penang to look for part-time jobs. I worked at an art centre, and one day, the owner shared a few quilling books with us and gave us paper strips to work with.

“Back then, there were not many online resources so we pretty much relied on books to learn the basic techniques to make simple paper flowers,” shared Khor, the youngest of three siblings.

A circle template board is one of the must-haves for quilling.

Khor’s must-have instruments are a slotted tool and a needle tool – both used to twirl paper strips into quilled paper shapes. Other essential utensils like scissors, a circle template board, white glue, tweezers, and of course, strips of paper.

A basic quilling set costs about RM30, she shared.

For advanced quilling, there are additional tools like a 3D moulding board, quilling comb, crimper and husking board.

“For a basic shape, take a paper strip and insert it into either the slotted or needle tool. Roll the paper strip until the end. Next, take it out gently and place it on the circle template board (the rolled paper strip will expand naturally). Glue the open end of the paper strip, and shape and bend the paper accordingly.”

The time taken to work on her crafts varies according to difficulty and intricacy. There are many quilling shapes, including a tight coil, heart, teardrop and scroll. For some quilling designs, Khor uses up to eight shapes including tight coil, eyes, fringe flower, and beehive.

Clockwise from top left: A circle template board, scissors, needle tool, slotted tool, tweezer, glue and paper strips are the must-haves for quilling.

“Don’t be afraid to try or to even make mistakes. Practice makes perfect. Enjoy the process of rolling, and don’t rush it,” she advised.

“I can complete a simple 2.5cm flower in 10 minutes, while a paper owl (4cm in height x 3.5cm in length) can be done in half an hour.

“A mini heart shape takes four to five hours while a floral garden decorative piece (20cm x 15cm) takes a few days. The largest floral frame I did (100cm x 60cm) took me three months to complete.”

Her intricate designs are captivating and it isn’t surprising she has a growing fan base with over 17,000 followers on Instagram (memoriesandco).

Khor took three months to complete this commissioned piece.

Floral themed quills are Khor’s favourite, and she incorporates them into most of her designs.

“There are so many varieties of flowers, and it is a fun challenge to create paper versions of them in vibrant colours. Every flower is different and there is a lot of room to experiment.

“The floral alphabet series which I created last year is my favourite. Each alphabet is represented by a flower and every flower has a different ‘pattern’ that sits on its surface. These patterns are made with different shapes and lines which vary based on how the ‘petals’ are arranged,” she explained.

Khor uses both pre-cut and self-cut paper strips for her creations. The paper grammage differs for different projects.

“I use 160gsm cardstock for quilling outlines such as typography and edge work like my floral alphabet series. These are thicker paper that can stand sturdily and bend into curved lines. Paper of about 80 gsm-120 gsm is used for smaller quilled pieces as they are more suitable for rolling and twisting.

The different quilling shapes, such as a tight coil, heart, teardrop and scroll.

“I am constantly improving my skills to be neater and so my work is more vibrant and eye-catching. Currently, I’m trying to improve my outline quilling techniques and colour matching between the designs and the backgrounds I use. I am always delighted to see the outcome,” says Khor, who also offers one-to-one quilling classes.

While paper quilling isn’t tricky to master, Khor says plenty of practice is needed to master the skill. Some of the problems that arise are uneven coils and quilled shapes that have dried unevenly.

“Sometimes the end result isn’t as what you imagine or the time taken to create a piece is longer than what you plan for. There are also moments when I experience a creative lapse and that’s when I know I need a break.

“When the mood is not right, the quilled work will not look nice,” says Khor, who accepts custom orders mainly for festivals and special events like birthdays, weddings and anniversaries.