2026 Wili Lei Making With Myrtle Wong

On Thursday, April 30, twenty seven of us gathered at the clubhouse for the 4th Annual May Day Lei Making Workshop with Myrtle Wong, a long time HTMC member who is an experienced and talented lei maker. Flowers make Myrtle happy!

Not only has Myrtle been making leis for many years, she is also an inspiring teacher. Myrtle and her friend Ruth Ikedabrought raffia, banana tree bark, extra flowers, and greenery to share. Participants also brought their own flowers and foliage, either gathered or purchased. Our blank canvases were Myrtle’s handmade 2 x 4-inch boards with hooks and nails, where we attached woven raffia and banana bark bases to begin our creations.

Before we started, Myrtle encouraged everyone to plan a design and thoughtfully select materials. Ideally, she explained, materials should be prepared and ready before beginning a lei. Myrtle teaches that every lei should include a “thriller” — the star of the show — along with filler and spiller elements, though a lei can also be created using a single plant material, such as ‘a‘ali‘i or ti leaves. Ruth then demonstrated the wili technique of wrapping raffia around the lei materials to form creative patterns of color and textures.

Although it takes Myrtle between 30minutes – 1 hour to make a wili style lei, for beginners it can take much  longer. Myrtle’s encouraging words and helpful guidance kept everyone inspired and working steadily. In the end, each lei reflected the creativity and personality of its maker, making the experience both memorable and meaningful. Myrtle believes that the aloha and mana spreads beyond this event.

HTMC is grateful that Myrtle continues to share this special tradition with us at the clubhouse. This year we were also fortunate to once again be serenaded by Michael Tanenbaum, an HTMC Friend and professional musician whose harmonious guitar music added to the creative and joyful atmosphere of the evening. If you couldn’t join us this year, we hope you’ll be able to take part in this wonderful tradition next year!

Myrtle and friends gathered for the May Day Festival at Kapiolani Park. 

Below are some of the participants wearing their wili lei’s.

All Photos in this article by Hawkins Biggins except for the image of the group on the stairs and at Kapiolani Park May Day Festival from Myrtle Wong.