How to Make a Lei

Co-authored by Claire Donovan-Blackwood

Last Updated: December 23, 2023 Approved

A flower lei is recognized worldwide as a symbol of Hawaii's aloha spirit! Wonderfully colorful and memorably fragrant, lei can represent love, friendship, good luck, and other positive sentiments. You'll often see them used at graduations, weddings, birthdays, and many other occasions. This wikiHow article shows you how to make your own traditional Hawaiian flower lei from fresh blossoms, along with additional methods for making crepe paper and money lei.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Making a Fresh Flower Lei

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1
Collect some fresh flowers. A lei can be made from any kind of fresh flowers — plumeria, roses, daisies and carnations are all popular choices — but you can choose any blooms, leaves or ferns from your garden.
- You'll find it easier to make a lei from medium-sized flowers with sturdy stems and durable petals. Flowers with delicate petals that fall off or bruise easily are not a good choice.
- To make one, single-strand 40" lei you will need approximately 50 blossoms. Try to pick each flower at the base of its stem to make sure the stamen remains intact.
- You can use artificial flowers if that's easier for you.^{[1]
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  Claire Donovan-Blackwood
  Arts & Crafts Specialist
  
  Expert Interview. 3 May 2019.}
Leave about 1/4 - 1/2 inch left.

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Cut a piece of thread, cotton string or fishing line 100" in length. Doubled over, this allows for a 40-inch lei with 5 inches (12.7 cm) at each end for tying together when you are finished.
4
Thread the needle. Take a large needle and thread the length of string through the eye, until it is doubled over. Tie the two ends of the string together to form a knot — this will act as a stopper for the threaded flowers.
- Make sure to leave 4 or 5 inches (10.2 or 12.7 cm) of string hanging below the knot — this will be necessary to tie the lei once it's finished,
- In Hawaii, they use a 12'' to 18'' steel lei needle to string the flowers — so if you can get your hands on one of these, that's great. Otherwise, any large needle will do.
5
String the first flower. Take your first flower and pass the needle straight through the center of the face of the flower, all the way through to the back. Gently push the flower down along the string.
- Alternatively, you can pass the needle up through the stem and out through the center of the flower. Which method you choose will depend on the type of flower you're working with.
- Be very gentle when pushing the flower down the string — if you push too forcefully you could damage the flower or even rip it off.
6
String the remaining flowers. Continue to string the remaining blooms in the same fashion, passing the needle through the face or stem of each flower. You can have all of the flowers facing the same direction, or alternate for added texture.
- Some lei-makers prefer to slide blossoms to the end in groups of five or so, which accelerates the process but can cause wear and tear on the flowers if you're not careful.
- If you're working with different colored flowers, it's a good idea to separate them out into different bundles — this will allow you to work more quickly and avoid mixing up the order of the colors.
- Continue adding flowers until the lei is approximately 40" in length. Hold it up around your neck in front of a mirror to ensure that you're happy with the number and placement of the flowers.
7
Finish the lei. When you've finished stringing all of the flowers, adjust the placement of the first and last flowers so they're nested together, and then tie the ends of the string in a square knot.
- Leave the hanging ends of your knot in place until just before you present the lei – this way you can hold it by these strings and avoid touching the flowers.
- Cut off the excess string and, if you like, add some curling ribbon for extra adornment. Now your lei is ready to be presented to its recipient!
- A lei can be worn more than once. Store it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator between uses to keep it fresh. Mist lightly with water to keep it hydrated.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making a Crepe Paper Lei

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To make a crepe paper lei, you will need strips of colored crepe paper ( 20 long and 2 wide) — the number of strips you need will depend on how long you want your finished lei to be. You will also need a needle and thread and a pair of scissors.
Take one strip of crepe paper and fold it, accordion-style, along the entire length. Each fold should be about ¹⁄₄ inch (0.6 cm) in length.
Pass the thread through the eye of the needle, double it and tie a knot at the end. You'll need approximately two yards of thread, but again this will depend on how long your want your finished lei to be.
Push the crepe paper to the end of the string.
Use your hands to open the threaded piece of crepe paper slightly, then twist it clockwise to form flower-shaped twirls. Try to keep the crepe paper twisted as tightly as possible — this will produce a fuller-looking lei.
Take a second strip of crepe paper, in a different color (or the same color, if you prefer) and repeat the process of folding, threading and twisting. Keep going with each piece of crepe paper until you have filled the thread.
Once you have filled the thread with twisted crepe paper (this may take up to an hour, depending on how tightly packed the twists are), pass the needle through the crepe paper at the opposite end and tie a knot to close the lei. Cut off the excess string.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making a Money Lei

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To make a money lei, you will need 50 crisp and new one dollar bills, a collection of colored beads, two 50 inch (130 cm) lengths of thread, a glue stick and twenty small binder clips.
2
Fold the dollar bills. Take a dollar bill and fold it in half, right down the middle. Make sure the two edges are perfectly aligned.
- Set the folded bill on the table in front of you, then fold back one of the edges, just to the edge of the white margin. Flip the bill over and do the same of the other side.
- Continue folding each half of the bill, accordion-style, until you reach the center. Make sure each fold is the same size and that you press it firmly to get a crisp edge.
3
Make the flowers. Once you have finished the accordion folding, the dollar bill should look like a single, rectangular strip. Fold the strip in half, down the middle.
- Open the folded strip so it forms a "V" shape. Take your glue stick and rub a little glue on the inside edges of both sides of the V. Don't take the glue all the way to the center though, only glue the top half on each side.
- Press the two glued sides of the V together and use one of the binder clips to hold it in place while the glue dries.
- Pull out the outside edges of the V, until the bill forms a circular, flower shape. Glue the two outside edges of the flower together (leaving the lower section glue-free) and secure with a binder clip.
- Repeat this process for the 49 remaining dollar bills — these will be the money flowers for your lei.
4
Assemble the lei. Once the glue on the money flowers has dried, you are ready to assemble your lei. Take your two pieces of string and tie them together at one end.
- Thread three beads (in any color combination you like) onto the double layer of string, then take one of the money flowers, remove the binder clips and pass the strings through the center.
- Continue in this fashion, adding three beads and then a flower until you have used up all of the money and the lei is full. Tie both ends of the string together to close the lei.^{[2]
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How do you make a graduation lei?

Claire Donovan-Blackwood
Arts & Crafts Specialist
Claire Donovan-Blackwood is an Arts & Crafts Specialist and CEO of Heart Handmade UK, a site dedicated to helping people live a happy, creative life. With over 13 years of experience, Claire uses art as a form of therapy and focuses on mindfulness in the making of art. She makes crafting easy and accessible for those she works with. Claire received her B.A. in Photography & Visual Imagery from The University of Huddersfield.

Claire Donovan-Blackwood

Arts & Crafts Specialist

Expert Answer

It really depends on the materials that you want to use and how fancy you want it to look. You can use any kind of string, yarn, or ribbon as a base. And then you can use whatever embellishments you want! Artificial flowers, beads, candy, money, and fake butterflies are all options.

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How do I make an origami lei?

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I would make origami flowers and then just follow Method 1. Or you could just use origami paper instead of crepe paper in Method 2. Check out How to Make an Origami Flower.

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Do I have to poke holes in the dollar bills?

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No. You can thread the needle through the slit on either side that radiates from the center where you join the bills, like the person did in step four of method three.

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You can make a lei using any kind of fun embellishments, like pompoms, fake butterflies, beads, or even candy bars.^{[3]
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Claire Donovan-Blackwood
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Expert Interview. 3 May 2019.}

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Different stringing methods are used with different flower types: one method goes straight through the center of each flower, while another threads a circular/double pattern through each flower's stem. There are even additional variations beyond these, but threading straight through the center of each flower is the most common approach,the most used, and the easiest.

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You can also use waxed dental floss for your lei string; it is stronger than thread and easier on the neck.

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Warnings

Plumeria blossoms contain a milky sap which is poisonous. Allow them to dry in open air before stringing.

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Do not refrigerate plumeria lei; it dries out the petals, causing them to turn brown faster. If you need to chill them, mist them with water occasionally to keep them moist.

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