Antique Rocking Chair Cane Replacement

Rocking Chair
After

Rocking Chair
Before

This was a lovely antique rocking chair with a damaged cane seat in need of replacement. The old cane was quite brittle, so easily breakable. It is not uncommon for these chairs to become broken as they age by simply sitting on them improperly or putting a knee on the seat which usually results in breakage. I estimated this chair was about one hundred years old, so it's not too surprising that it was broken. 

This style of chair was a strand cane, which means each strand is woven individually, one at a time and threaded throughout the chair front to back, left to right then diagonally in a series of steps that weave the caning so it makes a new, secure seat. For this chair I used 2.5 mm cane which is considered fine.

First the old cane must be removed by snipping away the center seat then carefully removing the binding, which holds the edges together and is a final step in the caning process. This type of caning is very tedious and takes several days from start to finish. It is rewarding work, but requires a lot of dedication and patience. With proper care and use, this chair's cane could last another hundred years or more.