Weaving Old Chair Seats and Saving The Earth

No reason to throw this cute little chair away. It was originally made in the 1800s and the only thing really wrong with it was the original hand woven seat was missing. Weaving seats is kind of a lost art these days, and it is time consuming but not really all that hard to do.

The process is pretty simple. I wove most of this seat while watching the an olympic hockey game. The Canadians ended up beating the Russians badly.

Once I complete the weaving, I then apply a coat or 2 of amber shellac to really pull out the color of the grass. If you are going to try and weave a seat yourself, it is important that the chair be structurally sound. If any of the glue joints are loose, be sure and repair those before you start weaving.

This chair could have easily been thrown away. Instead it was able to be saved from the landfill. The owner didn't buy a new chair made in and shipped from overseas. No styrofoam, plastic packing material, MDF, particle board, or child labor was used. This chair will probably last another 50 years if it is taken care of. A good example of greentiques in action.

-Rory-