Aloha!!!
I can't get out of my head how much I love Hawaii. I guess that's why people often pick it as their destination for a getaway or honeymoon or maybe even a wedding!
The islands of Hawaii are full of tourists, but they still manage to maintain so much of their own culture and ways of living, which I love.
My grandma also really likes Hawaii and has a friend that lives on the island. When I was younger, she said that she wanted me to marry off to Hawaii so she can come to live with me on the islands.
Funny enough, Hanson actually has family that lives in Honolulu. You can't imagine how jealous I was. We didn't stay with them, but when they came to pick us up from the airport, they greeted us with leis! It was such a nice surprise and I love that Hawaiian tradition.
We were in Honolulu on May 1st, which is what they call their "Lei Day". The lei is widely celebrated with a whole bunch of activities like lei making, lei competitions, hula dances, etc. I am so glad that Hawaiian traditions get passed down from generation to generation.
While I love Hawaii, I am not sure how much I would enjoy living there. They don't have any big-box craft stores! At least not from what I can tell during my short stay there. It would really bum me out not to have a place to buy my craft supplies.
When I came back home from my vacation, all I could think about was Hawaii. I really wish that I could have brought home a fresh lei, but obviously, that wouldn't last very long. So, I made myself one that would last forever!
I chose to make a plumeria lei because it's one of the most popular flowers in Hawaii for its large blossoms and assortment of colors. The Plumeria is also one of the more fragrant types of flowers.
Notes
- Traditional leis are about 12-18" in length.
- The lei is worked in a spiral but it creates an illusion of individual flowers strung together
- You can try to make a shorter one as a flower crown!
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What You Need / Materials
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- Worsted Weight Yarn in the following colors
- Yellow (I used Caron Simply Soft in Soft Sunshine)
- White (I used Caron Simply Soft in White)
- 4.5 mm Crochet Hook
- Yarn Needle
- Stitch Markers
- Scissors
Stitches & Abbreviations
- st/sts - stitch/stitches
- ch - chain
- sc - single crochet
Plumeria Lei Crochet Pattern
Using yellow yarn...
Ch 140-160 (depending on the length you want)
Row 1: Alternate 2 sc and 3 sc in each ch starting from the second ch from the hook until you reach the end of your foundation ch
Change to white yarn...
Row 2: Join with a standing single crochet st to the first st (on the "wrong side"), [ch 10, sc into the next 2 sts] x repeat until the end of your curl
Once you're finished, just tie/sew the two ends together. I decided to finish off my lei with an "unfinished loose pom-pom". I simply wrapped some yarn around a small pencil case and then tied it in the middle with some yarn scraps.
Did you make your own Plumeria Crochet Lei? I'd love to see it! Please share it with me on Instagram and/or use the #onceuponacheerio hashtag.
This is an original crochet pattern written by Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio. Please do not claim this crochet pattern as your own. If you wish to share this crochet pattern, you may link to this blog post but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for personal use but please DO NOT sell or distribute the crochet pattern.
You may sell products made from this crochet pattern, but please clearly credit the design to me, Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio and provide a link to my blog www.OnceUponaCheerio.com. Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you for understanding!
You may sell products made from this crochet pattern, but please clearly credit the design to me, Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio and provide a link to my blog www.OnceUponaCheerio.com. Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you for understanding!
I'm having trouble with attaching the white yarn. I attach, chain 10 and sc in the next two but it looks drastically different from your pictures, any advice?
Hey! It's a bit hard for me to know what it's looking like without a photo, but a key thing is that your yellow part needs to be all twisted/spiral in order to give it that illusion of multiple flowers later on.
Hello, how do you get the white petals to bundle so cute? Mine turn out big, open and floppy, not very pretty.
Hello! Are the yellow and white yarn you used for the project both the same weight? For mine, I think I just manually adjusted them with my hands and brushed it together once it was completed. Feel free to send me an email with photos if needed :)
The same thing as the other commenters is happening to me too. I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding the pattern? The white yarn chains just end up like big loops coming off the yellow curl, and doesn't make it look like a flower. I'm using the same exact yarns, just different colors. Am I misunderstanding? Thank you!
Hello! I think this crochet lei is just one of those crochet patterns that you have to trust the process for. It doesn't look like much at the beginning but will eventually turn out looking like a lei. :)
Hi Juli! I don't think Row 2 is accurate as others who have left comments are having trouble with making the white look fluffy and close together (myself included). It looks better and similar to yours in the pictures if it was chain 7 and sc into the next two stitches. It's not exact, but it looks better than chaining 10. Ch 10 makes the "petals" look to long. As someone from Hawai'i, I do appreciate you trying to make a plumeria lei, as I have not seen a pattern for it yet!
Hello! I've found that the type of yarn you're using matters too. I used a pretty lightweight acrylic yarn, so maybe that's why it didn't seem so big/floppy. you can try making the less chains and see if that would stay better.
Do you by chance have a video on making the plumeria lei? It has been a long time since I have done any crocheting. A visual would be so helpful for a beginner.
Thank you!
Hello! I don't have a video tutorial for this pattern. It's on my to do list! Will upload it once I record it!
I just want to say that I love this lei!! I'm working at a summer camp that has Hawaiian themed Fridays and I thought combining leis with one of my passions would be great, and this pattern made it that much easier to make them. I'm hoping to have a lot to pass around by the time I get there. The chain 10 does look very doubtful at first, but it 100% is a trust the process kind of thing. I am using hobby lobby I love this yarn w/ a 5mm hook. I would also recommend to others to solely use colors that do not change. I used scrap yarn for the first to make sure I would like it, and it does look good, but the second one with white & purple looks 10x better with the easy contrast.
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