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to quill

to quill

1 9.0
To roll narrow paper strips into small decorative shapes
  • verb
  • /kwɪl/
: 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

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

1 9.9

Completely real and honest

primary quill
  • Specialized
8.9

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

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
1 9.0
to embellish
7 6.3
to decorate
224 1.9
to doodle
18 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.