Haku Lei Making; The Most Beautiful but Not So Easy Way
A Haku Lei might be one of the most beautiful types of artistry, in my opinion. A floral necklace or crown each created with natures best for the season? I mean?…. A mixture of textures & colors, using only natural resources- no glue gun or ribbon required; who doesn’t love that!?!
Now there are many types of leis and a common one would be the Kui lei. These leis are made by using a long needle where you string your flowers and they are much easier to make than a Haku but they are not nearly as full and lush either. A Haku lei however is made using raffia, first braided and then adding small floral bundles wrapped in a continuous pattern… bundle, wrap, bundle wrap…
There are few tricks to these beauties I have learned along the way, so before I show you how I make mine, let me preface a few things to consider:
These are time consuming and really should be made in one sitting
Choose flowers that will last (Bill Char says to only use flowers that look good after 5 minutes freshly cut out of water.)
Be in the right mindset; you can not rush art and the more tense you are, the more you will be breaking your raffia as you go.
Kui Lei
Used by stringing flowers.
Haku Lei
Each flower hand wrapped using raffia.
Let’s get you ready! Here are the steps.
Materials:
Raffia, flowers, greens, clippers, bowls or trays
Step 1: Try to have your flowers and greens cut ahead of time. Use trays or a table to lie things out. Typically, you will need things to have 1.5”- 2” stems. This is a huge time saver!
Step 2: To start, take 4-6 long pieces of raffia (maybe 45” long or so). Tie a knot at the end and then braid your raffia down about 8”. Then finish it with another knot. Then make a loop using just your braid and tie again.
Step 3: Begin bundling 2-3 sprigs of whatever you want and place below the last knot along the loose strands of raffia.
Step 4: Using one hand to grip your bundle on top of the raffia, take one strand of raffia from the bundle and cross it over and back over your bundle. Keep it snug and then repeat. That same piece of raffia will continue to wrap over the bundles and your other group of raffia in grip. NOTE: To keep things flat and tidy, try to keep your work close to the edge of the table. This allows for your lei/garland to grow, stay flat and stay tight.
Step 5: if a piece of raffia rips or you run out of room, simply use another one of your strands and just bring it into rotation. (sometimes I would just cut another long piece of raffia and add it into my group to make sure I always had 4-6 strings in my grip at all times)
Step 6: When you have reached your desired length, tie a knot on the back side of your last bundle. Take another of your strands and wrap and tie. Make sure it seems snug and tight. Then braid the remaining raffia and tie a knot again.
That’s it! Once you are done, give them a little mist with a spray bottle and keep them in the fridge away from veggies and fruit, typically on the bottom shelf so they don’t get too cold!
In all honesty, I forget each time I sit down to make these how labor intensive they can be. It is for that reason, I hope that every one really understands how special these are to make for someone else, to give or even receive. There is no way around it, a lei can only be made as a labor of love!
WANT MORE!
I follow a couple lei making masters on Instagram, one from Hawaii, @meleana_hawaii and another from Los Angeles, @leisyleilani. I am always in awe of their work and just the clear passion for making these beautiful living art pieces. In addition, there is a lei making master, Bill Char on YouTube and No JOKE if you need any sort of tutorial, he is your go to! Here are a few of my favorites.
https://youtu.be/ZQ4X7IhtasU
https://youtu.be/kFcw1nG5djk
https://youtu.be/m6t-PvCLfo8
