Hickory Bark Seats

Why hickory bark

Hickory inner bark is one of the strongest woven seat materials there is. Wet, it works like leather; dried tight around the rungs of a post-and-rung chair, it’s hard, springy, and lasts generations. It’s the seat of the Appalachian ladderback and of Jennie Alexander’s Make a Chair from a Tree, which covers harvest and weaving as part of building the chair ¹.

Harvesting

The window is late spring to early summer, about May or early June. New spring growth at the cambium is weak, so the bark “slips” off the wood; outside that window it sticks ².

• Trees: straight hickories 6-12 inches in diameter near the base, with few branches and knots; bigger trees give more bark but thicker inner bark to process ². Shagbark and other hickories are used. Harvest from trees being cut anyway; peeling kills the tree.
• Outer bark off: fell and buck the tree, then drawknife off the rough gray outer bark down to the pale inner bark ².
• Strips: score parallel lines down the log to the sapwood and peel the strips, starting each with a knife and pulling along the length ².
• Widths: about 3/4 inch for chair-seat weavers; narrower for basket lacing (1/4 in.) and basket weaving (3/16-1/2 in.) ².
• Coil the strips with the smooth side in, tie with twine, and air-dry. Dry coils store indefinitely ².

A seat takes about 120-180 linear feet ².

Storing and preparing

Before weaving, soak coils in water overnight. Shave the rough inner face down to an even 1/8-1/4 inch thickness with a knife or drawknife while it’s wet ². Keep the bark wet while weaving.

Weaving

Hickory bark seats are woven like tape: a warp wrapped front to back around the front and back rungs, top and bottom, then a weft woven side to side around the side rungs.

1. Fill the front corners first if the seat is tapered, so the remaining warp is square.
2. Wrap the warp, edges touching. Join strips underneath by notching or tying, never on top.
3. Weave the weft in a herringbone (over 3, under 3, stepping one each row) or checkerboard, on top and underneath. Herringbone is the common choice for its strength and looks ².
4. As the last rows get tight, use a flat stick to open space and pull the strip through.

The bark shrinks as it dries, pulling the seat drum-tight and squeezing the rungs - one more reason post-and-rung chairs use dry rungs and well-made joints. Leave the seat unfinished or wipe on a light oil.

What to take from this

Hickory bark slips from the tree in May or early June. Drawknife off the outer bark of a straight 6-12-inch hickory, score and peel 3/4-inch inner-bark strips, coil and dry them, then soak overnight and shave to 1/8-1/4 inch. Wrap a warp front to back, weave a herringbone weft side to side, and let it dry drum-tight; a seat takes 120-180 feet.