Paper Pricking

Paper Pricking Tips

Can you tell me where a person could find an assortment of paper-piercing (a.k.a.'pricking') patterns?

Free, online....

I am not having much luck.

Thanks!

Eileen

I love an easy question once in a while!

Just look around you. Any simple line drawing can become a paper pricking pattern.

The only advantages I can see to the Ornare metal paper pricking templates is that the holes are perfectly laid out for you and the design can be repeated as many times as you wish. Oh, another advantage is they're quite beautiful. The disadvantage is that they cost between $6 and $10 each.

You will need a steady hand and eye to use your free/found paper pricking patterns. Find a picture you like that is, or could be interpreted, as a line drawing.

If it is not the size you need, have a reduced/enlarged copy made or use my directions for using your computer's word processing software to adjust the size.

Trace the design onto tracing paper for single use. To make your own template for repeated use, tape or use a glue stick to adhere the design to a plastic report cover.

A dark color will make the template easier to use because the holes are easier to see.

Outline the design in ink with a dotted line indicating where to prick. Do not make the marks too close together or you'll end up with a design that "tears on the dotted line" when handled.

Depending on your pricking tool, choose a soft surface that will allow the tool to pierce just the right depth for the size hole you want. Cardboard or fun foam are common choices.

Tape the tracing paper to your cardstock (smooth side up) then to the soft work surface.

Use low tack tape so that you can remove it without damaging your work of art.

Or for the template, tape the report cover to which you attached your design to the soft surface. In either case, prick all the dots you have marked. Hold the tool as vertical as possible to make nice round holes. Always prick to the same depth so that the diameters are equal.

To use the template, tape your card stock (smooth side up) to the same soft work surface. Position and tape your template.

Again, use low tack tape.

When you think you're done pricking, it's a good idea to loosen the tape on one side and lift up your design for inspection to make sure you didn't skip any of the template's holes.

If you did, it's very easy to lay the design back down, re-tape and prick the missing holes exactly where they ought to be.

If you'd like to learn more about paper pricking including tips and patterns, I recommend Janet Wilson's book, Traditional Papercrafts: Parchment Craft, Stencil Embossing, Paper Pricking, Quilling. She also has a book dedicated to paper pricking, but you get much more for your money with this one.