How to make a woven putiputi

What do you need?
Leaf of flax
Soft cloth
Sharp knife
Blunt knife.

Prepare the flax:
1. Clean the flax with a soft cloth.

2. Measure 30cm from the join and cut the butt off with a sharp knife.
3. Fold the flax in half long ways and strip off the coloured bands and the spine.

4. Fold the blades down at the join.
5. Divide each blade three or four equal strips.

6. Hapine each of the strips of flax (whenu) by stretching it against a flax knife.


Weave the flower:
7. Put the flax on a table with the shiny side up.


8. Miss the first two then pull them down up down up.

9. Fold the first over pressing hard to lie over his friends.
10. Leave the first one then pull the downs up and the ups down.

11. Turn number one across his friends  and weave.

12. Keep doing  that  until you are left with one.

13. Turn the corner.
14. Turn the hole steam 90c' till all but one whenu is facing up.

15.Bring the last long leaf whenu up to visit his friends, all the same way.
16. Miss the first two then fold down up down up like before.

17. Fold number one across his friends and weave like before.
18. Keep weaving and turning corners till the shortest whenu is about 20cm.

19. Finish when one whenu is pointing left and the others pointing up.
20. Take whenu 1 and 2 then tie them in a double knot.

21. Pull these two foward to make the stamen.
22. Twist the flower over, holding the other whenu till they come out down by the steam.                

23. Share half the whenu and tie it around the stem in a double knot.
24. Trim the whenu.

25.  Curl or shred the stamen if required.
26. WELL DONE MAKING A PUTIPUTI.