Essential Tools for Making Flower Ribbon Lei

These are all the essential tools I use when making flower ribbon leis. They are either on my table or easily accessible from my workspace. Click on the picture if you want to know where to find them.

I always choose to seal the edges of my flower petals, though it's not optional. I believe this extra step adds neatness and longevity to the petals, preventing them from fraying or running.

I like to use this glass candles. They are more economical than regular candles. They are clean lamp oil as they are unscented, odorless and smokeless, too.

This is the refill oil for the glass candle. This refill lasts for a long time. Offering longer burning time and most importantly, it’s odorless or unscented.

I use this blunt tweezers to hold the petals when I seal them with a small flame to avoid burning my fingers.

This is a small scissors. It’s 4”. I need it to cut detail small area or making a quick thread snips.

This is a big scissors. It’s 8”. Since I have small hands, 8” is sufficient for me. I use them to cut the ribbons, round corners and trim the edges. They need to be very sharp. And I put the label ‘mommy’, so my children and husband can’t use it for anything else 🤨.

I need this pinking scissors for a certain type of flower lei. I like Fiskars brand compare to the other craft brand, since they have sharp edges that cuts all the way to the tip. The blades remain sharp for an extended period of time even with frequent use.

When I need to cut more than 100 petals for a single lei, I turn to my hot ribbon cutter. It’s not my favorite tool, because it creates fumes when cutting the ribbons, but it’s essential for the task. So I make sure to use it outdoors or wear a mask for safety.