Above, lei made with rose buds, white wax flower, bouganvillea, and Song of India ribbons.

Here are some wonderful videos uploaded from Youtube to help you learn.  Each maker has their own style and methods; there is no "right" way.

The first is a beautiful video by Daphne Jenkins which runs through the basic steps of prepping, creating a base, and winding.  

She uses a 3-ply braid and creates the ties and base at the same time.

This lei is not "backed," which means that it does not have fern or other greenery covering the raffia base.  I recommend that beginners concentrate on the front before attempting to back the lei.

Two videos from one of Hawaii's most talented lei makers and teachers, Bill Char.

He demonstrates a rope-style for the ends, as well as winding the lei on a loose base of raffia.  

Videos going too quickly?  Check out Haku-lei's website for a super step-by-step tutorial by S. Arita.  

Planning the look

Many people have a natural eye for color and design.  I do not, so I put the flowers next to each other on my tray and see if they look nice together.  If you want a very rich-looking lei, lots of flowers in similar colors, usually darker, will achieve that.  A lighter lei will have a mix of medium and light colors with pale greenery.  Many lei makers like a bright color, like white, interspersed in the lei to make the lei "pop."  

Whatever you plan, you will need enough flowers and greenery to finish it.  That sounds obvious, but it does require some planning.  Some lei makers count out 20 of this, 10 of that, depending on how often that flower will be used.  Remember that a lei po'o is usually 21.5", so a rose every inch is 21.  There is no set formula because some people make a very tight lei and will need more, others less.  Experiment with shorter lei to get a feel for it.

And FINALLY, I now recommend using a pipe cleaner as your base.  Leave 3" at each end and wrap around the pipe cleaner. This provides a sturdy base. You want to make a lei longer that your base? Add by twisting however many you want together like two links in a chain.  Work up to a raffia base, it'll come in time.

Lei types & lengths

Kupe'e (for the wrist, ankle and sometimes as a hairpiece) - the shortest lei, it ranges from 4"-8", typically.  Four inches for the top of a tiny wrist, 6" is most common, and 8" can be used as a large hairpiece around a big bun.  I have not seen floral kupe'e worn on the ankle, but fern ankle lei are common for dancers.

Lei po'o (lei for the head) - this also has a range, 19"-23".  It could be outside of that.  21.5" is standard for all heads if you don't know the size.  

Lei a'i  (lei for the neck) - Depends if you want a short or medium look. Plan for 23" and adjust as needed. This is beautiful on men, especially; and works well for women who don't want to wear one on their head. Make a regular wili lei, and after tying in onto the person's neck gently rotate the flowers to face outward. I cup portions of the lei in each hand and roll it out.

Lei papale (lei for the hat) - usually 24".  Many people like a lei papale to dry well so it can be worn for several months. Tough greenery and flowers will suit that purpose.

Wili method

The following are videos that show step by step in close-up.  They are slow, without sound, and sometimes boring or out of focus (and we say this because we did it), but if you are having trouble getting the hang of anything they should help.

THE VIDEO PORTIONS ARE UNDER RENOVATION

Beginning a lei, and weaving

There are several ways to finish a lei, so I just picked one that seemed easiest to understand.
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My tips for finishing a lei:

     -  Prior to finishing, make sure you have at least 8" of raffia left on the base (this will become the other tie) and the weaving strands.  You will need the same amount of raffia in the base that you used to make the initial tie/braid.  If you don't have enough, add more raffia a few inches before the end.  If you have too much, gradually trim some out over the next few inches.  Better to have too much than too little.

     - When you have reached the end of the length you desire, gather the same material you started with.  Often this is fern or some other greenery.  Remember, you want the two ends to come together and look nice, plus the same beginning and end provides a nice symmetry to the lei.

     -  Bunch this material by pinching it low and tying it to the lei as usual.  It should look like the rest of the lei, and be the same height, but if it is a little fluffier and fuller that will help disguise the end.

     -  Wrap your weaving strand tightly around the base 2 times, keeping close to the greenery.  Tie these strands tightly to one of the base strands as close to your greenery as possible.  Wrap again and tie again.  If the end looks loose take a small spare piece of raffia and tie it over your ending a few times using a square knot (right over left and under, left over right and under).  

     -  Finish all knots on the bottom of the lei and trim the pieces to 1/4" or so.  I don't recommend using those pieces to make your final braid, as the pulling of the braid will then be pulling on your knots.

     -  Separate what is left of the base into two sections and weave them as you did at the beginning.  If it is much thicker than the beginning you can trim some strands out before you braid to make it smaller.  

     -  Finally, look over the lei and trim outliers and the ends of your ties.  Clip fern at an angle or pinch it off to make it look natural.

Backing your lei  *coming soon