Randi's Review	Sarah' Review	Rachel's Review	Cathy's Review	Kathleen's Review

Review by Randi

The "Professional Quilling Tool Set" comes with a Tapered Needle and a 3/16" Slotted Tool.

Each tool has its purpose and advantages The Tapered Needle naturally lends itself to the more tightly wound designs. As a novice it took some practice to get the paper strips to stay on the needle.

The 3/16" Slotted Tool gave a larger hole in the middle of the quilled piece, but I found it easier to keep the paper on the tool when it was secured by the slot. I would recommend beginning with the slotted tool and then trying the Tapered Needle after you've have a little experience.

Just an aside, I generally use a straight pin to poke a small hole through cardstock before attaching a brad. While the Tapered Tip Needle wasn't designed for that purpose, it does a great job of making that initial small hole for a brad. Let your quilling tool do double duty for you and keep it on hand for paper piercing also!

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Review by Sarah

The Lake City Craft Company Professional Quilling Tool Set comes with two tools: Tapered Tip Needle and 3/16” Slotted Tool. Both tools accomplish the same thing "both produce tightly wound rolls of paper strips" but in different ways, and with different levels of perfection.

Left: Tapered Tip Needle. Right: 3/16" Slotted Tool.

I first tried quilling with the 3/16" Slotted Tool. This is a metal rod less than ¼" thick and 2" long with a narrow, slotted, eye-of-needle type protrusion on the end. It looked easy to me because obviously, you stick the end of the paper into the slot and start to roll. Voila! A rolled quilling piece. It was tricky holding the small rod and the papers, but still I thought you myself, "That wasn’t too hard." As I made more rolls, I noticed that the innermost curls of the roll were not twisted as tightly as the rest of the roll. And the more rolls I made, the more trouble I had holding onto this tiny 2” of a rod. Finally, in frustration I decided to try my luck with the second tool of the set.

This image shows the size of a quilled heart. As you can see, making a piece this small while also trying to hold onto a mere 2” by less than ¼” of metal rod is pretty tricky.

That second tool is none other than the Tapered Tip Needle. This one has a lovely 5” long handle with a 2” long needle-point. It looks scary because it isn’t obvious how it’s used, and I had to look for some directions. While there are instructions on the back of the packaging that give you the basic idea of how to use this gadget, it neglects to tell you of the most important tip to using the Tapered Tip Needle - and that is to moisten the end of the paper before you begin rolling it (I found this information in one of the Lake City Craft Company Quilling Kits). I was too lazy to mess with cups of water or wet sponges, so I just licked the ends of the paper, a-la embroidery floss. (I hope the acid content of my licking doesn’t eat up my pages! :-) ). Making the rolls was still tricky with this tool, but oh! Having that nice, long, wooden handle made all the difference. The rolls were also much tighter and pretty.

This is a side-by-side comparison of hearts rolled using the Tapered Tip Needle (left) and the 3/16" Slotted Tool (right). Notice the tight winding of the roll made with the Tapered Tip Needle as compared with the bent inside tip of the heart made with the 3/16" Slotted Tool.

Conversely, I found when making Folded Roses that the 3/16" Slotted Tool is completely mandatory. The paper must be held in the slot as the roses are being folded. I still think that the handle of this tool is far too short for convenient use, but my experience with making Folded Roses revealed a necessary unique need for 3/16” Slotted Tool.

In Summary: I found that these tools perform the same job in different ways, and also have unique uses. I recommend Tapered Tip Needle for making the rolls for traditional quilling because of its nice, long handle, long tip for working rolls, and general ease of handling - if you know the tricks of using it. 3/16" Slotted Tool is difficult to work with, but holds its own as a needed item for making unusual quilling shapes such as Folded Roses.

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Review by Rachel

The Tool set includes both the Tapered Tip Needle tool and the Slotted Tool. They are designed to help you make the center as small and tight as possible, and this is the main key to quilling. It helps your quilling to look delicate and elegant. I started off trying the Tapered Tip Needle tool. This is probably a great tool for people who are really coordinated and not clumsy like me. I had a horrible time getting the paper to roll on this tool. I ended up using the Tapered Tip Needle tool to put glue on my rolls. It was the perfect size for helping to glue down the ends of the paper to the roll. I needed the added help of the Slotted Tool.

My favorite tool was the Slotted Tool. It is metal and has a slot for you to slide your paper in. The slots help keep the paper secure while you are rolling the paper. You then start turning the tool while applying a small amount of pressure to the paper. One thing I did learn is that you need to make sure the paper lines up straight as it is rolling onto the tool. You do not get as tight of a roll if your paper does not line up straight while rolling. I really wish they could make this tool a bit longer but I am sure they would have to raise the price if they did since this tool is all metal. I really think the added price would be worth it though. The Slotted Tool was pretty simple for me to use even with it being so small. I highly recommend the Slotted Tool.

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Review by Cathy

The tool set includes a Tapered Tip Needle and a 3/16 inch Slotted Tool. The Slotted Tool is recommended for beginners because it is easy to use. The Slotted Tool has a little space on the tip, which catches and holds the end of the paper.

To use the slotted tool:

1.Holding the tool in one hand and the paper strip in the other, slide the end through the slot.

2. Roll the slotted tool between your thumb and pointer finger, guiding the paper with your other hand.

3.To remove the quilled paper, simply remove the slotted tool, while slightly compressing the quilled paper.

4. To make the paper quilling less dense simply allow it to separate to the desired spacing.

I preferred this Slotted Tool. It was handy, easy to manipulate and worked with all types of paper, including heavy cardstock. The disadvantage to this tool is that it doesn't give as tight of a quill as the Tapered Tip Needle. I also had my 12 year old daughter try the quilling. She was able to use both tools, but this was her preferred tool.

The Tapered Tip Needle is recommended for a more experienced quiller. When I used this tool at first, I glued the paper end around the needle. This kept the paper in place and allowed me to make the quill easily. The instructions in the Quilling Kit say to moisten the end of the paper. The Tapered Tip Needle does make a tighter quill with a very solid center.

I recommend that you practice experimenting with both tools with scrap paper.

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Review by Kathleen

The Professional Quilling Tool Set from Lake City Craft Company is a handy set of tools for all levels of quillers. The tool set consists of a Tapered Tip Needle and a 3/16" Slotted Tool.

The Tapered Tip Needle is probably better suited for the advanced quiller because it takes some practice to keep the quilling paper on the needle as you roll the quilling paper. However, once you are able to get the hang of using this tool, the centers of your rolled quilling papers will be very small, which is usually the ideal look.

When using the Tapered Tip Needle, slightly wet your index finger and place your piece of quilling paper against it. Place the Tapered Tip Needle (the tip will leave the smallest hole) and roll the quilling paper, not the needle. Try to keep the quilling paper edge lined up until you have rolled the length of the quilling paper or achieved the roll desired.

The 3/16" Slotted Tool is a fabulous tool for the beginning quiller. I used this tool for the majority of my projects. I preferred the quickness of this tool. However, the 3/16" Slotted Tool will leave a larger center in your finished roll.

When using the 3/16" Slotted Tool, place the end of your quilling paper in the slot and begin rolling the tool until you have rolled the length of your quilling paper or achieved the roll desired.

In summary, both the Tapered Tip Needle and the 3/16" Slotted Tool are excellent quality quilling tools. I like the design of the Tapered Tip Needle because the handle makes it easy to hold.

If I had any changes to make, I would make the 3/16" Slotted Tool with the same type of handle as the Tapered Tip Needle. I feel this would make the tool easier to hold onto when working and also easier to store as it would not get lost as easily. Also, the Tapered Tip Needle, with its extremely sharp tip would benefit from a cap of sorts. In all I would recommend either of these tools for all levels of quillers.

For more information, visit Lake City Craft Company

Contact info:
1209 Eaglecrest Street
P.O. Box 2009
Nixa, Missouri 65714
Ph. 417-725-8444
Fa. 417-725-8448