How To Make A Rattail Pikake Lei

Pikake Flowers

To make a pikake flower lei out of rattail, start with a roll of 2 mm rattail. A 200 yard spool will make about 5 lei.

Real pikake flowers  are off white. You can make lei in any color you want. Mother nature doesn’t mind.

For other lei, see eyelash, braided, spiral, or candy lei. This photo shows what we will be making in this post.

You will need:

Rattail, "H" crochet hook, eyelash yarn.

I’m using white rattail here.

Make a loop leaving 4-6 inches for tying off later.

The Knit Witch has instructional videos for how to make a chain stitch and how to single crochet, at her site.

Use a H crochet hook to go through the loop and pull the cord through to start a chain

Pull tight to make a knot. Loop over the hook to make the first chain stitch.

Pull it through and now you have a knot AND your first chain stitch.

Make a chain of four.

Go into the third chain from the hook.

Loop the cord around the hook.

Pull the cord through.

Make a loop on the hook.

Pull the cord through all and you have a single crochet.

Go into the fourth chain from the hook and do another single crochet.

It will look like this.

Pull tight while curling it over on itself.

Your first pikake flower.

Chain four more for your next flower.

Continue until you have 36 inches of flowers.

The average lei is 36 inches, finished. You can make them a little bigger or smaller depending on the size of the wearer.

Or 92 cm.

Make another flower and turn. Hook into the back of the last flower before you turned.

Single crochet these two together side by side.

Chain four and make another flower.

Attach it and continue up the line of flowers making a double row.

At the end, knot it and leave 4-6 inches.

Make a knot on the hook using the eyelash yarn. Leave 4-6 inches for tying.

Turn the flowers over and start at the end with the ties. Insert the crochet hook into a loop in the back of the first flower. Single crochet the yarn to it. Hook into another loop on the back of the same flower and repeat.

We are putting the eyelash yarn along one row of flowers and then we will come back along the row of flowers on the other side.

Continue along hooking the yarn into the back of each flower twice. Return along the second row of flowers and arrive back at the ties.

Anastomos the ends of the lei. Pull the ties through the end of the lei without ties. Tie securely. Use the hook to thread the ends through so they dont show.

Voila.

You can make a single row of flowers. If you make it smaller its good for dolls.

You can make wrist size which also fit on stuffed animals.

You can make a shorter lei to decorate a hat.

You can make a few flowers with tie ends...

To use on a gift.

You can think of many ways to use these flowers. Have fun.
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<p> © 2010 Jeanne Litt, All rights reserved. </p>

© 2010 Jeanne Litt, All rights reserved.