As Machel has stated, it is a long and tedious project in making a "true" Hawaiian quilt. I watch 10 ladies lay out the design for a queen size. It was awesome watching them. With that said...would I make one that size? Nope! I know how long it takes for them to get done because of talking to ladies in Hawaii who have made them. I got to help stitch a king size at one time. One of the ladies said they had been working on the quilt for almost 3 years. WOW! That's way too long for me to have to work on one thing. All TRUE Hawaiian quilts are hand sewn from beginning to end.
They are beautiful!
My advice to you is...if they have their heart set on Hawaiian and you want to make one for them, you can do this. I've seen one made this way.
The quilt was made in squares. I think it was like 5 across and 6 down. Every other square was Hawaiian applique design. The block next to it was plain, but the plain block was hand embroidered with a Hawaiian design. It was very pretty! You could probably make it as a Quilt As You Go project.