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to quill

to quill

9.0
To roll narrow paper strips into small decorative shapes
  • verb
  • /kwɪl/
translation icon : hacer filigrana de papel
  • She decided to quill a beautiful pattern on the card by twisting and shaping colorful strips of paper.

Examples

  • In the art workshop, they learned how to quill intricate designs for their handmade decorations.

  • Using delicate techniques, he began to quill stunning floral motifs with thin paper strips.

  • Lakota women favored the use of red quilled stripes in decorating soft-style cradles and "possible" (or storage) bags.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Herein lies the answer to the Lakota's near monopolization of flag imagery in beaded and quilled art: they had compelling reasons to display this foreign motif as well as actual flags.

    Academic text (2002)
  • We are unaware, however, of data that would suggest exchange patterns in flag-motif beadwork equivalent in volume to that of Navajo blankets or Hidatsa quilled shirts, each of which became popular throughout the Northern Plains.

    Academic text (2002)
  • It was also a period when Lakota artisans began producing a wealth of beaded and quilled items boldly decorated with American flags as well as other federalist symbols.

    Academic text (2002)

Compounds

quill pen
  • Archaic
2 8.1

A writing tool made from a bird's feather that you dip in ink to write

primary quill
  • Specialized
8.9

A long outer flight feather on a bird's wing that helps it fly

Completely real and honest

A long stiff part of a bird's wing once used for writing

quill-driver
  • Archaic
9.9

An old-fashioned name for a person who writes for a living, often doing simple forms

How Intricate

to quill
9.0
to embellish
10 6.3
to decorate
226 1.9
to doodle
13 3.3

Surface Forms

quill infinitive
quilled past
quilled past participle
quilling present participle
quills third person singular

Etymology

Quill as a verb for paper craft comes from the old habit of rolling paper around a bird 'quill' to make curls and shapes. So to quill is to make decorative designs by rolling and shaping narrow strips of paper.