Hand Caning: The Seven Steps

The material

Seating cane is the glossy outer bark of rattan, a climbing palm of Southeast Asia whose stems grow 100-300 feet long and rarely more than an inch thick, stripped into narrow strands ¹. It isn’t bamboo or sugar cane. Good cane is smooth, glossy on the right side, tough, and pliable, with smooth, unbroken “eyes” where leaves grew ¹. Plastic cane exists; real cane is the choice for old chairs ¹.

A chair with a ring of small holes drilled around the seat opening takes hand caning; one with a groove takes pressed cane (next lesson) ¹.

Choosing cane

Measure hole spacing center to center ¹:

Binder is cane one width wider than the weaving cane, used to finish the edge ¹. A 1,000-foot hank does about four medium chairs.

Preparing

• Cut out the old seat with a keyhole saw or shears, saving it as a guide; clear every hole; round the inside edge of the frame with a file so it won’t cut the cane; refinish before caning ¹.
• Soak a coil of cane, smooth side out, about 20 minutes in warm water until pliable; Cornell recommends a 10 percent glycerine solution to keep it supple ¹. Keep the next strand soaking while you work.
• Tools: two dozen wooden pegs, an awl, scissors, a clamp clothespin or two, a sponge.
• Weave with the eye so the bumps don’t catch and roughen ¹.

The seven steps

Weave from the top of the seat, starting at the center of the back rail so rows stay straight ^{1 2}:

1. Verticals, front to back. Peg the center holes front and back, then lay strands back and forth, slack - sagging a little below the frame ¹. On seats wider at the front, use extra strands in the side holes.
2. Horizontals, side to side, laid on top of step 1.
3. Verticals again, on top, just to the right of the step 1 strands.
4. Horizontals, woven. The first real weaving: over the step 3 strands and under step 1, in front of the step 2 rows, drawing everything into pairs with small open squares between. Wet the seat and straighten the pairs with pegs or an awl ¹.
5. First diagonal, from a back corner: over the vertical pairs, under the horizontal pairs. Corner holes take two strands, a fish-head (V); skip or double holes on curved sides to keep rows straight ¹.
6. Second diagonal, the opposite direction: under the verticals, over the horizontals ¹.
7. Binder: lay the wider binder over the holes and stitch it down with weaving cane, up and over and down through each hole (or every other hole when they’re close), pegging the ends at the corners ¹.

Tying off: twist or tie ends around a nearby strand underneath, never carrying cane across a hole that’s still needed ¹. When the seat dries, the mesh tightens and should follow the shape of the frame.

Pull strands through with your hand level with the rail; lifting can saw through strands already woven ¹. If the cane squeaks it’s too wet; if it cracks, wet it ¹.

Other shapes

• Round seats: usually fine cane and lots of doubling in holes; some weavers do a diagonal as step 3 to hold rows straight ¹.
• Five-step weaving skips one vertical and one horizontal step; quicker but weaker ^{1 2}.
• Rocker backs: same steps, with more ends to hide at the lower edge.

The Caner’s Handbook covers repairs and restoration of antique cane in detail ³.

Care

Clean with a damp cloth; dampening the underside now and then keeps cane from drying brittle. Natural cane is usually left unfinished.

What to take from this

Hand caning uses rattan cane sized by hole spacing (fine for 5/8 in., medium for 3/4 in.) and soaked about 20 minutes. Lay verticals, horizontals, and verticals again slack; weave the second horizontals over and under into pairs; add two diagonals with fish-heads at the corners; then stitch on a wider binder. Tie off underneath without crossing open holes, and pull level with the rail.