Welcome Back, Everyone!

I hope you’ve been practicing the four-strand Poepoe style tied — whew! That one takes a lot of patience and practice. I hope you continue practicing, because that’s the only way to truly improve and reach your goal of creating very good-quality jewelry in this design.

Now let’s dive into one of the most unique and recognizable styles of Niʻihau shell lei sewing (ニイハウ シェル ジュエリー): Lei Kui Poepoe using two strands, made with Kahelelani shells.

Haha… I can almost see the curious look on your face. Two strands? Maybe easier than four?
Nope — it’s actually the opposite. Two strands are harder.

I’ll explain this in the simplest way so it’s easy to remember when you see photos or hold the lei in person.

Two-strand Poepoe style is exactly what it sounds like — it uses two strands, Poepoe style twisted, to create the rope-like structure. You’ve probably seen photos and descriptions like “Poepoe-style shell lei, earrings, or bracelet (貝殻ピアス)” and thought, Okay, Poepoe is Poepoe.

✨ Yes, in Hawaiian, Poepoe describes a rope shape. But a rope doesn’t always look the same, right?

With two strands, the Poepoe does not form a round shape. Instead, it creates a square structure. The finished piece shows six rows of shells, all aligned together. Once you realize this, your memory clicks — Yes, I’ve seen that before!

And just when you think you’ve understood… your head starts spinning again.

 

The Beginning of the Struggle

When I first tried making a Poepoe-style lei, I started with four strands, just like the photos I saw online. But then I noticed something strange — some examples looked completely different. They weren’t round. They looked square, with six perfectly aligned rows.

I remember asking myself:

How are they doing that?!

I read the description. It said:
“Two-strand Poepoe, twisted.”

That’s when I completely lost it.

Just two strands?
And what does twisted even mean in this context?

I had no idea where to begin.

This design is very unique, but it also demands shells in near-perfect condition. Every shell must be almost the exact same size and sit perfectly next to the others. One shell slightly too big tilts the row; one too small creates gaps. That precision is what makes two-strand Poepoe so challenging — and so rewarding when it finally comes together.

Can you see square shape in the photos below?

 

The First Attempt — Let’s Just Say… It Wasn’t Pretty

I grabbed two threads, added about 25 shells to each side, and tried twisting them together. But which way do you twist? I tried both directions — loosely, tightly, every way I could think of. I kept twisting, untwisting, and re-tying it again and again.

The result?

A complete disaster.

It looked nothing like the elegant square shape I had imagined. I stared at it and laughed to myself because it was so far from what I’d seen in photos. I remember asking, How do they make the shells look so perfectly square?

Later on, I learned that a third string is involved to help keep all the shells in place. At that moment, you might nod your head and think, Ah, I get it now.

But no — it isn’t that simple. Trust me. If it were that easy, you’d see this style everywhere on the market.

The Frustration Years and the Breakthrough

I spent countless 12-hour days trying to figure it out. I never gave up, but I also never got it right. Even after two years, I still couldn’t find anyone willing to explain what I was doing wrong. Eventually, I had to stop myself and take a long break from trying to create the Poepoe style with two strand. But even during that time, I didn’t stop learning.

I focused on improving my Pikake style, continuing to practice, refine my skills, and better understand the shells themselves. By my fourth year of making Niʻihau shell jewelry (ハワイアンジュエリー), I felt ready to try again. Around that time, a kind older artisan finally agreed to look at my work. He told me, “I won’t teach you how to make it — but I’ll tell you what you’re doing wrong.” When I showed him my piece, he smiled and said, “You’ve been poking the holes wrong this whole time.” He then showed me the correct angle — the right way to poke.

I went home and practiced for hundreds of hours, focusing only on getting the poking right. When I strung my shells again and twisted them together — just like before — this time something changed. The shape began to form.

The answer was clear: the poking.

Because the holes were now made at the correct angle, the shells twisted more naturally, and the structure finally started to appear. But even then, it wasn’t perfect. The rows still wanted to twist, and the pattern didn’t always stay straight. Sometimes I couldn’t even get past two inches without the design going crooked. Back to frustration again — but this time, I knew I was on the right path.

With more practice and patience, everything slowly came together. Eventually, I completed my first 7.5" Poepoe-style bracelet. From that day on, I kept improving. I’m still learning. Still practicing. And I’ll never forget his kindness — mahalo from my heart ❤️.

✨ Here is my very first Poepoe-style bracelet — the moment everything finally came together after years of practice, mistakes, and learning.

To Answer Your Questions

Creating a two-strand twisted Poepoe style requires far more shells than most people expect, and they all need to be in excellent condition to achieve this look. It also takes a tremendous amount of practice — especially if you’re aiming for clean lines, balance, and consistency.

I’ll be honest — I can be very hard-headed when it comes to quality. Even today, I often redo the same piece more than once.

If you want to try this style but don’t plan on chasing precision, it may bring more frustration than joy. That’s why I usually recommend starting with the four-strand Poepoe style tie before attempting the two-strand twisted version.

I learned this the hard way.

Sometimes we see someone demonstrate a technique and think it looks simple — but what we’re really seeing is years of practice behind that ease. I’ve been fooled by that many times, laughed at myself, and started over more than once.

Of course, this is just my personal experience. Maybe you’ll pick it up faster than I did. And if you find someone willing to guide you closely, you might master it sooner. But for most of us, it’s a long journey — filled with patience, trial and error, and eventually, the joy of watching beauty come together strand by strand.

It truly took me a long time to understand and practice this design. After many years of patience and learning, here I am today — finally able to create this beautiful style with confidence, and even take custom orders. Below are some of my creations using the two-strand technique, formed into the Poepoe style.

 

The lei shown below is created using Kahelelani shells from Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi.

   

➡️ In our next blog, I’ll take you deeper into the Poepoe style — this time using Triple strands to create a fuller, rounder design. I’ll share how I practiced, failed, tried again (and again), and finally learned how to create a balanced lei that flows just right.