Quills are used in elegant jewelry, and many of the techniques for stringing quills into necklaces, bracelets & chokers and earrings are easy to learn. It is not necessary to soak and soften quills before using them for threaded jewelry (as you do for other types of quill-embroidery). It is, however, necessary to cut off both sharp, tapered ends of the porcupine quill - when making threaded quill jewelry, take care in discarding the dangerous tips of the quills.
For sturdy, long lasting strung quill jewelry, it is best cut your quills to ¾ of an inch or shorter. The thickest quills, the ones with the fattest diameter, are great for strung quill jewelry. Quills can be combined with tiny beads such as glass 'seed' beads, or other beads made from metal, wood or shell. The only restraint on the size of the beads used is that holes in these beads should not be so large that the threaded quills slip inside them. Some types of quill jewelry combine several strands of quills and beads, held in parallel rows and kept separate with leather 'spacers'.
One-strand necklaces are probably the simplest threaded jewelry to make. To make a necklace, cut the quills to equal lengths, and string them on, separating the quills from each other by string on small glass, metal, wood or shell beads. Such necklaces are quite beautiful when several strands are worn at once.
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