How to make a Cane Chair?

PrintEmailSave

Cane chairs are made by weaving cane strand or cane sheets. Cane is produced in Souteast Asia, India, Indonesia. The cane comes form a vine named Rattan which belongs to the palm species. The outer edge of the is peeled off and used to make the cane chairs and rattan chairs. Cane chair is made from light honey colored,  strips of rattan which has been removed from the outer edge of the rattan and is shiny. Chair cane  can be hand loomed and then produced into webbing and attached with a chair spline. You can repair a damaged cane chair by weaving it with cane strand or attaching cane sheet to the chair frame. Wooden chairs are made in to cane chairs by using the cane material for seat cover and back cover. Process of making a cane chair is easy. 

How to cane a chair using cane sheet?

There are two ways of caning a chair. Collect information about different types of cane materials available for caning chairs. From 1860s chairs are caned with cane sheet which is woven through a machine and these sheets are attached directly to the frame of the chair. Before attaching the cane sheet clean the chair frame. If any previously attached cane sheet is present then remove the sheet from the chair frame. Knife is used to remove any sheet pieces that are present on the chair. Put the cane sheet in warm water to soften the sheet. Spline is used to place the cane sheet in correct position of the chair. Make sure that cane sheet should be several inches larger than the chair. After attaching the sheet to the chair frame then knife is used to remove the excess sheet. Glue is used for attaching the sheet to the chair frame.

How to cane a chair using woven cane?

Instead of cane sheets if we weave cane strands then first decide which type of weaving pattern should be used. There are many types of weaving styles with cane strand. With experience you can create more complicated designs in caning chair. Weaving is done by placing the cane strand in the hole present around the seat of the chair then stretch the thread and loop it in to the next hole. A peg is used to keep the thread in place. Repeat the process until the whole chair is covered then start diagonal weave to have a double grid pattern.  

Cane chairs are quite popular in India and South east Asia. They are comfortable with cushions placed in the chair, otherwise it is quite uncomfortable to sit in them. This is a small scale industry in India and  the price of the chair depends on the intricacy and elaborate designs.