Coming soon:
 - Using floral tape
 - "Ribbons" in lei
 - Wiring roses 

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 pick a little more than you think you'll need to be on the safe side.

Lei 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 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.

Prepping the Material

Published by an amazing Japanese lei maker, Yukio Otani, his video covers prepping and weaving a lei.

One easy way to remember what your prepped material should look like is copy a small palm tree. Bushy at the top and slim for the trunk.  Gather a stem or two and pinch the material softly to see what it will look like in the lei since it will be snug in the middle of other material.  A slender stem will keep the lei from getting too heavy and bulky.

This video demonstrates the rope style for the ties on the lei.  It is a little challenging to hold your rope and tie at the same time, so some people use a weight to hold one end, a nearby friend, tied around their toe, or pinned under a heel  For better or worse, it also demonstrates the difficulty one will get into if there is not enough raffia at the end to make a knot.

To avoid this, leave 9 or 10" of raffia to make a tie, stop at about 6" of finished rope, and use the rest to tie a knot.  

I find it easier to work with raffia when it is wet, so I soak the raffia for a few minutes.  It tightens as it dries, another benefit to keeping it wet.  Occasionally spritz what you're using with water, and keep the raffia you will add moist, too.

You can pre-make bases and keep them until you are ready to use them.  

Coming soon:
 - Using floral tape
 - "Ribbons" in lei
 - Wiring roses