When June comes around, parents are thinking of graduation and promotion. What better way to celebrate your child’s advancement than a dollar bill lei. A lei is a wreath or necklace usually made of flowers or leaves. In our case, this lei is made of dollar bills. There’s two versions of the dollar bill lei: an easy one and a hard one. In fact, both are easy, The easy lei only uses 15 one-dollar bills. The hard lei uses about 50 one-dollar bills.
Dollar bill lei is not hard to make but it does take time so let’s get started.
Instructions for Dollar Bill Lei ($50)
Step 1:
Start with a crisp dollar bill. |
Step 2:
Fold & unfold the sections so the dollar bill is divided into eighths. |
Step 3:
Turn over the dollar bill and fold & unfold each section so the dollar bill is divided into 16ths. |
Step 4:
Compress the pleated dollar bill. |
Step 5:
Compress the pleated dollar bill even further until it is a tight strip. |
Step 6:
Fold in half. |
Step 7:
Tape the two ends of the dollar bill together. |
Step 8:
Expand the pleated dollar bill so it forms a rosette. |
Step 9:
Tape the other two ends together to secure the rosette. |
Step 10:
Get a ribbon that is at least 8 feet long. The actual length will depend on how long you want the lei to be. [Hint: A ribbon that is too long is better than a ribbon that is too short]. Find the middle of the ribbon and tie a double knot so it forms a 2 or 3 inch loop the near the halfway mark. |
 
Step 11:
Thread the ends of the ribbon through the slots where the dollar bill is taped together. It helps to tie the ribbon to something like a paperclip to help weave the ribbon through the slots. |
Step 12:
Push the rosette up to the knot in the ribbon. |
Step 13:
Tie a double knot at the base of the rosette so it doesn’t slide up and down the ribbon. If you like, you can thread a bead or another element before adding the next dollar bill rosette. |
 This is how it looks. |
Step 14:
Keep adding rosettes until it is long enough to make a necklace. This lei used over 50 one-dollar bills. |
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Step 15:
Tie the ends of the ribbon to the loop made in step 10 to form a necklace. Trim off excess ribbon. |
 Nice! |
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