Or tie two or three nice clean knots with the ribbon as close as you can get it to the beginning of the satin. Hold the lei up to the light and snip any stray pieces of thread or fray. Even the most perfect strips will show unevenly when complete, simply clean up the edges. Don't get carried away trying to make the lei perfect, it is the nature of the lei to look like a feather or flower, and neither are perfect in nature. The link to the lei maker on the very bottom of this article takes an additional strand out from the very center of each strip as a guide for sewing, a good idea for beginners.
Variations Use different color satin every few inches.
Just be sure to count strips, since strips are all the same length , lei should come out even. Instead of an open ended lei, sew lei ends together, creating a closed rather than open lei. I prefer open lei, the owner of the lei can then choose to tie lei as tightly or loosly as preferred. If lei is it to be given to wedding couple, make brides lei just a bit narrower and shorter, make grooms lei just a bit wider and longer. If sewing a double lei to resemble the twined ilima lei, remember this is 2 lei so double your fabric and satin ribbon.