BEADWORK PROJECTS
Using Porcupine Quills as Bugle Beads
Porcupine quills have a natural contrast that makes even a simple piece of
beadwork stand out from a distance.
You can buy pre-sorted, pre-cleaned quills from bead stores, trading posts and pow-wows. But if someone brings you a whole porcupine's quills (like my friend Sally did -- it had already gone to the great beyond when somebody saw it under a dumpster in Billings and brought it to her at the animal shelter), well, then you have to sort and clean them yourself.
Caution:
Don't play around with quills if you have small children or curious pets. They are sharp and dangerous (the quills, not the pets) and impossible to find when you lose a snipped end in the carpet or couch.You can wash the quills in warm, soapy water, but you might want to wait until you've sorted and trimmed them first.
Here's how I sort mine:
I get an old cupcake pan, flocked and divided jewelry tray, or anything that has lots of small compartments. Some people just use a towel.Then I begin to sort the quills based on their circumference. When I have enough for my project, plus a few extra, I stop. (Hey, I've been sorting through this same boot box full of quills for a few years now. It's kind of scary.) Stay away from the curved quills or the ones that have already been bent and kinked. I love the ones that have lots of dark brown on the ends -- don't you?
Q: How do I know what circumference I want? I usually keep handy a bugle bead of the right circumference for the seed beads I'll be working with.
Here's a tip:
When I use quills to build a base row for, say, brick stitch style earrings, I use a circumference that's exactly as wide or just a little wider than the circumference of the seed beads. This builds a strong base row. The quills I'll pick for the fringe will have a slightly smaller circumference. This way, they won't bump into each other too much and the fringe will probably move better.
OK, now that I've picked my quills I'm ready to trim them. At this point, some people soak them in warm soapy water to make them softer. But I usually don't. Soaking means I have to take them into the kitchen (see the caution about babies and pets). Besides, soft quills tend to squish when trimmed. But soak if you will -- just don't soak too long. You can use scissors, a rotary cutter, wire cutters, a razor blade, toenail clippers -- whatever's sharp. Put the quills on a piece of double stick tape to keep them from flying around when you trim them. I like the toenail clippers because I can aim them better and snip straight and even across the end of the quill. I'd use those fancy jeweler's wire cutters that look like advanced toenail clippers, but I don't have any.
If you think of what they're called, let me know --
Mystery solved! Alaina Chynoweth-Tyy wrote to say they're called "flush-cut end nippers," or "flush-cut end cutters." And she should know -- as a 25-year communications tech veteran with, shall we say, a "major communications company," she knows her tools. Alaina says she prefers the flush-cut side cutter herself, and considers it the most useful and versatile wirecutter. Thanks, Alaina! Q: How do I know what length to trim them? Well, remember that good old bugle bead I keep handy? I use that as a guide for the brick stitch base row. Or you can use a ruler and/or mark 3/8 or 1/4 inch increments on a piece of paper and use that as your quide. Often, I'll trim one, then hold that up with the next one I trim; always holding up the first one so my measurements don't vary too much.
For the fringe, I usually choose quills that I can trim to about 1 inch.
Tip:
You only get one chance to trim each end! Don't try to trim just a sliver off the end to make it match the others. You'll probably just smash the quill or trim it crooked. Instead, sort a few extras at the beginning and plan to make a few mistakes.Another tip:
Smashed quills crack later and crookedly trimmed ones don't hang or string straight.
This step is optional, although some people would disagree. I didn't know about this for a long time, and my work came out just fine.
(Soak Them First)
If you're going to drill, you definitely have to soak. Soak the trimmed quills in warm (not hot) soapy water for 2 to 5 minutes. If, when you begin to drill, you notice the core of the quills are still dry, soak for another minute. The longer you soak, the softer the quills will become. This is not necessarily good.Take a very straight headpin and gently insert it into one end of the soaked quill, rotating the headpin between your fingers to make the insertion easier. Keep drilling until the headpin comes out the other end. You can also use the blunt end of a large, very straight beading needle. I have a really long beading needle made for size 10 loomwork that would work pretty well for really narrow quills. Go slowly and be careful, or the headpin will split the quill.
Q: Why do people drill their quills? Well, later, when you're sewing through them, it will make inserting the needle and thread easier.
Tip:
Drilled, or hollow quills tend to move around more on the beaded piece. Undrilled ones tend to stay put without turning or moving up and down on the thread. So...I like to drill the quills I use for fringe. I want movement and flexibility in my fringe. I like to not drill the quills I use in brick stitch, because I want them to stay put. I sew through them several times, going through a slightly different place inside the quill's core, making a stronger row.Tip Too:
Use white or cream-colored thread when sewing through a hollow quill, because the quill's outer covering becomes translucent with time and a dark thread will show.
For Designers
One of cool things about quill bugles is that you have two colors to work with on each quill. I like to create contrasting patterns with the natural cream and dark brown colors of the quill. I select and trim quills that have different amounts of brown, and place them side by side to create triangles, diamonds, and step patterns.
Another cool design trick is to vary the length of each quill bugle used in the fringe. You can build a v-shaped fringe just by trimming quills in increments from, say 1/4 inch to 1 inch.
Remember, Dear Beaders
Quillwork has natural power. Choose each quill carefully and handle it respectfully, and your work will be beautiful, long-wearing, and loved by others ;-)
For info about traditional Native American uses of porcupine quills, check out Tara Prindle's pages on the subject at Native Tech.
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This page was first posted on 4/21/97, ©1997 Mary J. Tafoya.
All patterns and projects ©1997 Mary J. Tafoya.
Single copies may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial use only.