HAND  CANE

The cane is woven through holes in the wood one strand at

a time. The edge can have a strip of binding cane which

covers the holes and than is either tied down with a small

piece of cane, or held by wooden pegs in the holes. 

Some hand cane chairs are done “blind hole”. In this case

the holes do not go all the way through to the other side of

the seat or back. 

PRESSED CANE

Sheets of pre-woven cane are soaked, then pressed and

glued into grooves (channels) in a wood frame. A reed

spline is then placed in the groove to hold the cane in place.

When the seat dries and shrinks it becomes tight enough to

sit on. The cane does not come through the wood on the

bottom of the seat frame.

See our pressed cane section for more information.

FIBRE RUSH

Fibre rush is made from rolled paper. It is usually woven

around rungs and has lines that meet in the center of the

seat. When woven correctly and finished properly this is a

very durable seat. 

The rush can be painted or stained. Since this is a

continuous cord, the bottom of the seat is similar to the top

of the seat.

CATTAIL RUSH

This beautiful seat is woven on fine antiques and well-

made furniture. The pattern on the top of the seat looks

similar to the fiber rush. The leaves are rolled and twisted

to form the rows of rush.

New seats start out green. The chlorophyll eventually leaves

the material and it turns a straw color. The seat continues

to change to a brown. 

The rush on the bottom of the seat is not twisted so it

forms flat rows. The material is knotted in lines that run

from the corners of the seats to the middle. You can see

where the tails have been cut.

PRE-TWISTED RUSH

When woven correctly this imported pre-twisted grass can

make a very nice and durable seat. This is similar to the

European method of twisting rush (shown here with

wrapped corners).

FLAT REED

Flat Reed or Splint seats can be made from materials such

as Ash or Hickory. This one is made with flat reed, which is

cut from the inner part of the rattan plant. When fresh it

is white. It is a relatively easy material to work

with. It takes stain well.

Modern splint is machine-cut from boards. Traditional

splint is hand split from green logs. The old-fashioned

splints are the strongest, but can be very tricky to work

with.

Changing the width of the reed or the number of rows you

go over and under in the weave also vary the look of the

pattern. Pictured is the herringbone weave.

DANISH CORD

Danish cord is a high-quality braided paper cord which is

very durable and beautiful. There are several ways this

material is woven, depending on the chair frame.

Pictured is a beautiful and comfortable seat woven

with Danish cord in the rush pattern. This seat takes

considerable skill to weave evenly as the braided cord does

not form easily to this pattern.

WIDE BINDING CANE

Wide binding cane is rattan. It is the same material used

to cane chairs but wider. Binding cane usually comes in

4mm, 5mm, or 6mm widths (pictured is 6mm).

The “porch” or “basket” pattern is woven around rungs and

is two-sided. Top and bottom are identical. The

Herringbone pattern can be woven in mulitple

widths. Variations such as zig zag or diamonds can also be

woven. 

UPHOLSTERY

And it's weatherproof! This very large heavy porch rocker

originally had a hand-woven rattan seat and back. 

Our customer saved a lot of money by having us upholster

it in one of the many excellent weather-resistant fabrics

available these days.

SHAKER TAPE

Shaker tape is  woven around rungs with a foam insert for

comfort. Shaker tape comes in several colors and in two

widths: 1" and 5/8".

Pictured is a chair with the seat and back woven in a two-

color checkerboard pattern with an American-made 1"

cotton strapping. 

OTHER

More categories soon!

OTHER

More categories soon!