Ladder Back Rush Chair Repair

Rush Chair After
Replacement

Rush Chair Before
Replacement

This was my first time replacing a broken rush chair seat. Although I’ve done a lot of caned chairs, this chair was completely different from the caning process. The rush material can be a natural rush which is woven from cat tail leaves or fibre rush which is a man-made material using a paper product. For this chair I used 6/32” fibre rush that came on a 10 lb. coil. 

First I removed the old rush from the seat completely, then removed any residue and dirt before beginning the new weaved seat. Measuring the seat is the first step in the rush weaving process. You measure the front, then the back and deduct the back measurement from the front and divide by two. For this chair, it was one inch. I made a mark on each side, then began my front weave using this mark. 

The rush fibre strand is attached to the left side and wrapped around the front left and right until you reach the mark you made on the front of the seat. Then you can begin adding the rush to the back of the chair using the same technique. This is a long, tedious and very strenuous process. As you weave, it’s important to pull each strand very tightly before you continue to wrap each side. Using clamps to keep the rush in place is essential to keep it taut while weaving.

The weave begins with over the left rail, up through the middle, then over the right rail, up through the middle, over the back rail and up through the middle, over the back right and up through the middle, over the back left and up through the middle then over the back rail and up through the middle, then down the front of the chair where you started and begin the entire process until your weave reaches 2/3 complete. Cardboard triangles are then fitted into each side, top and bottom to fill the gaps, then you continue to weave until you reach the center of the chair. During the weaving process you need to add new coil when you run out by tying a square knot and continuing the tying the new rush to the piece you ended with. The knot should be somewhere in the bottom so it can’t be seen from the top of the chair.

The closer you get to the center, the more tricky the weaving becomes because you can no longer pull the large coil through the center, so you must pull it single strand through the center and keep going until you fill up the hole. Then you finish it off by tying off the bottom. I completed each chair by applying clear polyurethane to protect the chair from staining.

Rush Seat Before

Rush Seat After

Small Chair Gets Newly Caned Seat

Caned Chair After

 

Caned Chair Before

This was a nicely sized, small antique chair with a broken cane seat. This is a common problem with cane, it breaks easily when someone either puts a knee through it or tries to stand on it (not recommend). 

This chair was a standard strand weave cane, using a medium size cane. To determine what size cane a chair requires, you measure the distance between each hole as well as the size of the holes on the perimeter of the chair’s seat. If you’re unsure what size to get, it’s better to go a size smaller because ultimately it’s easier to work with.

I prefer this type of caning to the spline, or “press in” caning because although it is more time consuming, it is actually easier to do and much more accurate. I also prefer the look of strand caning to spline caning. The process for spline caning is completely different from strand caning, as the caning comes in a sheet anywhere between 16"-24” wide and sold by the foot, so if you are doing a chair that is 13” x 14” you need to get two lengths of caning in the closest size, but allowing an additional two inches on each side to allow enough cane to “press” into the groove on the top edge of the chair.

With the traditional weave as seen in this chair, you start by removing the old cane completely and make sure all the holes are cleaned out. Then you begin the weave by starting from the front center and coming up the back center, passing beneath through each hole, then back up again to the top, repeating this procedure until one side of the chair is completely filled in, then you repeat on the other side. The next step is the horizontal weaving, continuing until the entire chair is covered both vertically and horizontally. The third step is another row of vertical, this one going slightly to the left of the first row. This allows the additional weaving steps to be easier. 

The total process has six steps of weaving then the final step is the final edge which is secured with binding cane which is a bit wider than the cane used on the chair. You come up through each hole then down the same hole, over the binding then securing the it by pulling the working cane through snugly on the underside, then repeating this on each hole until you complete the entire chair.  You secure the corners with a 1” piece of round peg cane that keeps the corners from coming apart. On the underside of the chair will be the loose strands of cane which will be tied beneath the woven strands created through the caning process. This is the last and final step before the chair is complete and ready to use.

My first caning chair was quite the challenge, but after watching many videos and reading material, have since done many caned chairs. Each time it gets a little bit easier, because I understand the weaving process. I’m currently self-learning yet a new type of weave, a rush chair, which is a completely different process from caning, since the entire chair is woven from the corners to the center, ending with a very narrow space to fill in the last strand. Rush is either natural or manufactured, but the process is the same. I’m in the early stages of this, but this evening I finally figured out the direction and how to get it positioned correctly. When I’m done I will hopefully will have four nicely finished rush chairs and a new skill under my belt. I’ll be posing those too, so keep checking back!