What is a Lei?

A lei is a floral wreath most commonly associated with Hawaiian culture. Often times, when visiting or leaving the island of Hawaii, is it common to give family and friends a flower lei as a sign of affection. While they are most commonly made of fresh flowers, leis can be made of most anything including feathers, beads, fruit, fabric, and other braided materials.

So what does a lei have to do with the ukulele?

While the ukulele is a descendant of a Portuguese instrument called the Machete, it is thanks to the people of Hawaii that we have the ukulele we know and love today. King Kalākaua, the penultimate monarch of Kingdom of Hawaii, who was a patron of the arts, celebrated the instrument upon its introduction and adaptation on the island. He often included it at royal gatherings.

Because the ukulele has such a strong connection with cultural traditions of Hawaii, adding a lei on the instrument is a fun and beautiful way of further connecting with those traditions. Please note, however, as far as I have found, the act of adding a lei to a ukulele is not a real Hawaiian tradition. I believe that it is an interesting way of adding color to your ukulele but also invites the creator, as well as the viewer, to engage in a discussion about actual Hawaiian traditions.

Let’s Get Started!

First things first, you need a few items!

You will need:

• Fake flowers (Be mindful of your ukulele size when picking your flower petals. Soprano ukuleles do not need large petaled flowers!)
• Pipe cleaners (1 per lei)
• Scissors (to trim excess pipe cleaners)
• Elastic stretchy cord (optional in place of pipe cleaner)

All of these items can be found at your local craft store. I purchased mine at Michael’s. I have linked the items I used.

I wouldn’t recommend buying your fake flowers at Michael’s as they tend to be pricey. However, I found mine 60% off and then had an additional 20% sale items coupon, so for the entire hydrangea flower it was about $2.00. Instead, I would go to a Dollar Tree as they often have fake flowers and you could easily make a lei with a single stem. In total, assuming you already own a pair of scissors (even safety scissors would do the trick) each lei you create should only cost about $2.00 max.

Step 1: Remove the petals from the plastic stem

You should only need about 30-35 petals to create a full and lush lei. While I was using the same flower for this lei, I would recommend choosing two different colored flowers and then alternating between the two. You may also want to pick off some small leaves if you have them on your fake plant. 

Step 2: String the petals onto the pipe cleaner or string

If you choose to use the elastic string (which in my option is the preferred option as it can then be easily removed to use with another ukulele) this process might take a little longer and may test your hand eye coordination depending on the size of the hole in your petal. If you choose to use a pipe cleaner this will take no time at all.

Step 3: Separate and fluff the petals in the center

If you are like me, you might find that your petals bunch together. This is easy to remedy by just spreading them out so they look like they have shape. Careful not to spread them too much as you don’t want to be able to see any of the pipe cleaner in the center.

Step 4: Wrap the pipe cleaner around the head stock 

Wrap the pipe cleaner around the center of the tuning pegs and twist the pipe cleaner together to secure the lei. You may find that you have excess pipe cleaner. Trim the ends. Make sure to tuck the pointy ends of the trimmed section under itself to avoid snagging on clothes or skin. 

Once the lei is secure, you may need to fluff the petals once more. If you choose, you can spread the petals out to cover the back as well, however I found that mine would have been too bare in areas, so I left it exposed.

This is a picture of a lei I created with the elastic string. I very much prefer the look of this one as I think it looks of a higher quality. I also like the option that it can be easily removed whereas the lei made from the pipe cleaner will need to be untwisted to be removed. Either way, though, both leis look great and do not get in the way of tuning the instrument.

Why you should make one!

Ukulele leis are beautiful, easy to make (the pipe cleaner option took less than 5 minutes and the elastic string took me about 10), cheap, and add a lot of character to your ukulele. If you pair that with learning a little bit about leis and Hawaiian culture, you have a home run craft project to make with your kids, students, or even just for yourself!