How to Weave Palm Fronds for Your Tiki Hut

If you're building yourself a tiki hut, or a shade structure, keep this in mind. The picture isn't the best unfortunately, but you can get the basic idea from it. The picture is from a temporary structure in southern India.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Palm frond
• hands
• knife

1. Get a Palm leaf. Obviously this will be easier in some locations. Hopefully you live in a warm climate.

2. Split the palm leaf down the spine so you have half a leaf, and half a center spine. There's a sort of thin stick in the middle of the leaf spine. You can save these and bundle them together to make brooms.

3. Fold every other frond back on it's self 90 degrees. Interweave it with the fronds going the other direction in a basic basket weave. Continue until you've woven the whole leaf into a mat.

4. Attach it the the side of your hut. Then repeat with the other half of the leaf. If you keep going, you'll be able to build a whole wall. This shade structure only used them as an edging to the roof.

[cygnetbrown]

on 5/4/2009 Thanks for the great article!

[admiller]

on 5/3/2009 I do live in a warm climate. This looks like the perfect projects for me. Thanks.