How to Make Fake Leis

Leis are traditional Hawaiian garlands of fresh flowers, given to guests arriving on the islands and at special events. Fresh leis are often made with orchids, jasmine, plumeria flowers and ferns. In this article you'll learn how to make a lei out of artificial flowers. Silk flowers provide the most realistic look for a lei.

Buy silk flowers that look the most like traditional Hawaiian flowers, such as plumeria, hibiscus, gardenia, orchids, jasmine, bougainvillea, and orange flowers. You will need about one and a half flowers per inch of lei. For a 50 inch lei, you will need approximately 75 flowers.

Remove the plastic stems from the silk flowers. Some flowers are made with many pieces, so be careful to keep all of the parts together.

Thread the thread or floss through the tapestry needle, using about ten inches more thread than the length of your lei.

Pass the needle and thread through the center of each flower. Make sure to thread through all of the parts of each flower.

Tie the ends of the thread together so that the flowers rest closely against one another and make sure that there are no big gaps where the thread shows through. Cut any excess thread at the end of the lei.