Cute Rocking Chair Caning

Rocking Chair After

Rocking Chair Before

This was a very dainty, cute rocking chair that as many before it, had a broken seat.  It’s not uncommon for older caned chairs to become brittle and are easily damaged when a knee happens to land in the center of it or it one sits in it a bit too hard. While a caned chair can last many years, they do require a bit of a gentle touch when used as an everyday chair. Luckily the back of the chair was still in tact, so just the seat needed replacing.

As a smaller chair, this one was perfect for a shorter person as it was close to the ground, so it would be easy to get up from. I loved the curved arms of this chair. They were so smooth and well made. The chair was also very sturdy.

This was a strand caning job, which means that the caning is woven in the six steps used for this method. The first three steps are fairly straightforward, front to back, left to right then front to back once again to cover the first row. 

The next step is the first weave, under step three over step one. You do this until the entire chair is done, then you begin the first diagonal weave starting in the upper right corner and working your way to the back, then picking up and working your way to the front of the chair. The next diagonal weave is opposite the first, starting in the left corner and working your way to the back, then finishing the same way you did for the first weave and working your way to the front. 

Once the diagonal weaves are done, you use a wider strand of caning to bind the edging by pulling through the narrow caning up and over the wider caning until it covers the holes. The very last step is tucking in all the loose strands that pile up on the underside of the chair. This requires pulling the loose strands underneath the tied ends and pulling them tightly before snipping them off. Then the chair is done.

Caning is a dying art. Not many people do this tedious work anymore because it takes time (a commodity for sure) and patience. My first few chair took me over a week to do, but as I progressed, the process became easier and I became more proficient at each step. Tip: you need to really pay attention to the direction of the weave in all steps. If you go in the wrong direction, you usually won’t spot it right away, but it will throw you off and then you’ll have to undo all the wrong caning and redo it or it won’t work right and you’ll see it. Take your time and do it right and it will save you a lot of heartache and headache down the road.

Ice Cream Parlor Chair Painted and Re-Caned

Chair After

 

Chair Before

These chairs were once popular in ice cream parlors across the United States. The familiar shape is reminiscent of generations before ours sitting in an ice cream parlor, enjoying a cone of their favorite flavor. 

This chair was quite old, an antique, that had been painted a few times. It was likely part of a set but was a lone chair that needed new paint and a newly caned seat. Many caned seats either got painted with the chair, or stained, depending on the  manufacturer or whoever refinished it prior. My choice is to leave the caning natural and allow it to age which gives it a unique patina that only time can create.

Caning a round chair is a completely different process from caning a square or rectangle chair. This is because you have to go through the same hole many times and skip holes with the weaving process because of the round shape. It’s a bit tricky, but follows the same principles of basic caning in every other way. The white paint was a great choice for this little chair which matches the little table perfectly. It will eventually be used as a place for homework or other projects for a little one.

Chair with table, finished