How to Wrap Hollow Quilling Shapes Around a Border Buddy
To make a hollow quilling shape, wrap a paper strip around one level of the Border Buddy, secure the paper to itself with glue, and gently slide the finished border off toward the narrower end. Keep successive wraps directly over one another so they form a band with an open center.
This guide is for a beginner making separate hollow circles, squares or triangles. The key decisions are which level to use, how much paper to wrap and whether to glue between layers. A small practice border will help you settle those choices before making a matching set.
What does the Border Buddy do?
The Quilled Creations Border Buddy set contains circle, square and triangle forms with an interchangeable handle. Each form provides a shaped surface around which to wrap paper. The manufacturer’s Border Buddy product page confirms those three included shapes.
The resulting paper border is often called a ring coil or open shape. PaperQuilling.ca’s Quilling Basics describes the underlying method: wrap paper around a form and glue the loose end while it is still supported. The form occupies the space that becomes the hollow center.
What should you prepare before wrapping?
Gather your Border Buddy, quilling strips, paper craft glue and a fine applicator. Scissors and a ruler are useful for controlling strip length. PaperQuilling.ca identifies a fine-tip glue bottle as a way to dispense small amounts and lists 1/8-inch paper among common quilling widths in its materials guidance. Use that width as an optional starting point, rather than a requirement.
For your first attempt, use one color and one strip width. Keep a spare strip for a dry practice wrap. This makes it easier to see whether you are staying on the same level before introducing glue.
Choose a level that lets the strip sit around the form without straddling a change in size. Look at the intended opening as well as the overall shape: you are selecting the surface around which the innermost paper layer will sit.
How do you wrap and close the hollow shape?
Position the strip and complete the first circuit
Hold the beginning of the strip against your chosen level with the paper’s broad face against the form. Guide the strip around the entire outline while keeping its edges aligned. Practice this once without glue so you can adjust your grip.
For a circle, follow the curve continuously. For a square or triangle, guide the strip around each corner before continuing along the next side. Keep the paper snug against the form without pulling it away from the level you selected.
When the strip returns to its beginning, put a small dab of glue between the overlapping paper surfaces and press them together. The intended bond is paper to paper; keep glue off the form. Continue holding the first circuit while the overlap takes hold.
Build the border and secure the tail
Continue wrapping directly over the first circuit. Watch the upper and lower edges as you turn the form: the strip should build outward into a layered band rather than travel along the tower.
Stop when the border has the appearance you want. Trim the remaining tail if necessary, then glue it to the preceding paper layer while the border is still on the form. This follows the supported end-gluing method in Quilling Basics. For a square or triangle, placing the final overlap on a straight section is a useful working choice because you can press it flat against the form.
Should you glue every layer or only the ends?
Honey’s original Border Buddy Basics tutorial compares both approaches. The maker reports that gluing between layers gives larger shapes straighter sides and more defined corners. Very small shapes may hold satisfactorily with less extensive gluing.
The tradeoff is alignment. Once layers are glued together, you cannot readily level their edges afterward. If you choose continuous bonding, apply a light amount to the paper surface that the next wrap will cover, then align that wrap before pressing it down. Honey emphasizes bonding each successive layer for this method.
Use the following as a practical decision aid derived from that comparison, rather than a fixed recipe:
| Your immediate goal | Approach to try | What to inspect |
|---|---|---|
| Learn the wrapping motion | Dry-wrap first, then make a small border | Does the strip remain on one level? |
| Make a small, simple outline | Secure the beginning and final overlap | Does the removed border retain its outline? |
| Make a larger geometric border | Bond successive layers while wrapping | Are the edges aligned before each bond sets? |
| Produce matching pieces | Repeat one successful sample | Are level, strip length and glue method consistent? |
How do you remove the border without distorting it?
Leave the completed band supported until its glued joins hold. Follow your adhesive’s drying directions; a single waiting time would not account for different glues and amounts.
Support the border around its outline and ease it toward the narrower end of the form. Move it gradually, keeping opposite sides approximately level. If it catches, stop and inspect the contact point instead of pulling from one corner. This removal sequence is a practical handling recommendation based on the stepped form.
Place the released border on a flat surface and inspect its opening, edges and seam. With an end-glued border, gently check whether the layers can be brought level. With layers bonded throughout, expect alignment to depend chiefly on how accurately you wrapped them; that limitation is explained in Honey’s alignment notes.
How can you make matching shapes and diagnose uneven results?
Record the form and level you used, paper width, strip length and gluing approach. Honey’s discussion of open-shape forms highlights how recording the wrapping form helps with reproducing a shape. Your notes turn a satisfactory sample into a repeatable working reference.
For an illustrative comparison, make two borders on the same square level using equal lengths of the same paper. Glue only the overlaps on one; bond successive layers on the other. After both have dried, compare side straightness and edge alignment. This is a suggested experiment, not a reported test result.
If the edges look stepped, return to a dry practice wrap and watch where the strip begins to drift. If a larger square’s sides spread after removal, try bonding successive layers on the next sample. If matching pieces look different, compare your recorded settings before changing several things at once.
Finish one border that holds its outline and has a secure seam before making the rest. Keep that sample beside you as a visual reference: matching its opening, edge alignment and border thickness gives you a concrete target for every subsequent shape.