Make a Hawaiian costume with a raffia grass skirt and floral lei.
Create a beautiful floral lei and a grass skirt for an authentic-looking outfit to wear to a summertime luau party or to celebrate Halloween in hula dancer style. The Hawaiian necklace and skirt are simple to make and you can customize both to any size you would like. Make the grass skirt from raffia for a realistic look and feel and make the lei from your favorite exotic silk flowers.
Instructions
Raffia Grass Skirt.
1. Wrap a piece of rope or cord around your waist. You can use ribbon instead for a softer accessory.
2. Add about 12 extra inches and cut the rope to this length.
3. Cut the raffia into long pieces, about twice the length you would like the skirt.
4. Fold a piece of raffia in half and knot it over the rope, cord or ribbon waistband.
5. Fold another piece of raffia and knot it to the rope, as close to the first piece as possible. Repeat across the length of the rope, leaving 6 inches empty at each end.
Flower Lei
6. Separate the flowers from the stems. To make an authentic-looking lei, use silk plumerias or orchids. You can also use real flowers for a single-use lei or make the lei from colorful discounted flowers for an inexpensive alternative.
7. Remove any plastic centers to the flowers as well.
8. Cut a piece of dental floss or clear jewelry string to a length of about 45 inches. Thread one end onto the sewing needle.
9. Insert the needle through the center of one of the flowers and slide it along to the other end. Leave an empty space at least 4 inches long at the end of the floss or string. Slide the remainder of the flowers onto the lei until each end has a 4-inch-long empty section of string or floss.
10. Tie the ends of the string or floss together in a very tight knot and cut off any extra length.
Tags: grass skirt, make from, piece raffia, rope cord, string floss