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Chair Caning

Country Style : Episode COS-101 -- More Projects »
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Figure A

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Figure B

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Figure C
No matter how beautiful or valuable a country chair may be, it's only as good as its seat. Keeping country chairs in good condition is the specialty of hand-caner Betty Newman. She shares some facts about her craft and discusses the various types of caning, weaving and repairing she does to make chairs as good as new.
  • Chair bottoms can be made from a variety of natural fibers, including cane, flat reed or fiber rush.
  • If the seat or back has a groove in it she uses a sheet of prewoven cane (figure A). She taps it into the groove and securs it with a strand of tough fiber called a spline.
  • A chair with holes must be caned by hand (figure B).
  • If the chair has a drop-in seat, she uses a twisted rope called rush (figure C). Originally made from cattails, rush is now created out of paper.
Guests
Betty Newman
Hand Caner, Newman Valley Studio
Website: www.newmanvalley.com
Also in this Episode
Country Style : Episode COS-101
•Lone Star Living
•May Tree
•Salvaged Objects
•Cottage Decor
•Chair Caning
•Country Containers
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