How to Make a Ti Leaf Lei

The Ti Leaf Lei is a beautiful lei that is given at various special occasions such as graduations and weddings. It can be worn alone or combined with a flower lei by twisting them together. Single flowers can also be added into the Ti Leaf lei to enhance the beauty of the lei.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 4 Fresh Green Ti Leaves
• Ruler
• Iron
• Knife
• Scissors
• Refrigerator

1. De-bone each Ti leaf. Lay the Ti Leaf flat down vertically, with the shiny side facing down. The point of the Ti Leaf should be pointing away from the body. In the center of the Ti Leaf is a light green vertical line that is called the "Bone" of the Ti Leaf. Take a ruler and measure from the top point of the Ti Leaf down the "Bone" approximately 3 inches. Mark that spot with tip of the knife by making a 1/4 inch incision horizontally across without cutting entirely through the Ti Leaf.

2. Keep the knife horizontal across the leaf in the incision and pull the bottom of the blade slightly towards the body to pull up the bone of the leaf. With the thumb and index finger, pull the bone down towards the stem of the Ti leaf until the bone is removed. Cut the Ti Leaf vertically up the middle with the scissors. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 with the remaining Ti leaves.

3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 with the remaining Ti leaves. Iron the Ti Leaves, wrap them in newspaper and place them in the refrigerator overnight.

4. Remove all the Ti leaves from the refrigerator. Take 2 Ti Leaves and tie the stems together. Sit down on the floor and put one side of the tied Ti Leaves through the Big toe and index toe on the right or left foot. Place the tied portion of the Ti leaves behind the big toe. Pull the leaves forward on each side of the big toe with the right and left hand.

5. Twist each leaf tightly for approximately 2 inches into a rope-like form. After 2 inches, twist the 2 ropes together. Repeat this step until there is 3 inches of untwisted Ti leaves on each side.

6. Graft in a new leaf by placing 3 inches of the tip of the leaf in between the 2 ends of the preexisting leaves. Twist the preexisting leaves around the new leaf twice. Repeat this step for each new leaf.

7. Tie the ends of the last leaves to the knot in that started the lei.

Tips & Warnings

• For an open ended lei, tie the end of the lei into a knot instead of connecting it to the beginning.