Background

I learned how to recane chairs about 18 years ago in order to restore my Great-Grandmother's nursing chair and soon found that my new-found skill was in demand.

Since then I have added rush, Danish cord, seagrass and Lloyd loom repairs to my repertoire.

Eight years ago I turned 10 years of experience into a business.

I provide a free local delivery and collection service within 10 miles of SL6 3QG. 

Cane Patterns

There are several different patterns used in caned furniture and I am able to copy whatever was originally on the chair or  any other pattern required. 

Five way standard

Six way standard

Double Victoria

a variation of Six way standard

Before & After
Jørgan Baekmark Chair

Difference between laced and unlaced cord.

The laced, on the right also twists in the opposite direction.

The original seating material on this rare Jørgen Bækmark chair is laced Danish cord, which is a tightly twisted 3ply paper cord of 4.5/5mm diameter. (Little picture on Left hand side above) 

Unable to obtain this I had to replace it with a specially made 4.5mm unlaced Danish cord.  It is this cord that is most commonly found on the well known Danish chairs designed by Hans Wegner and still made by the Carl Hansen company and others.

We now have some laced cord in stock. 

The colour of Danish cord has changed about 10-12 years ago.  It used to have a yellow/goldy cast to it but is now a light beige.   

Sometimes the cord is looped over L shaped nails which are attached to the seat frame and sometimes the loops are stapled onto the frame.  The former method is easier to re-cord and we often insert these special nails to make the job easier - makes it easier for the next person as well.

This chair was made by J L Møller Design No 75 and the seating is a 3.5mm unlaced Danish cord.

The woodwork was in a very poor state and all the cane back had to be replaced.

I found the picture above right on the internet and it always helps to find a maker's mark.  Unfortunately, I couldn't trace the designer.

Cleaned, oiled and the back rewoven. 

Each strand had to be stapled to the frame on one side before the strand from the other side was woven across and covered it.

I love the curves on these chairs!

The teak had really dried out and resembled the grey of old garden furniture.

It really is the same chair!  Just cleaned and oiled.   The arms are made of laminates of teak and beech.

On this chair, each strand was wrapped several times over itself to secure it on the frame - no staples or glue.

Not only featuring on 'Mad Men' but appearing as new on Dr No.

Designed by Peter Hvidt and Orla Molgaard Nielsen and made by France & Sons

The remains of the rush pattern shows that this pretty little child's chair is probably of Scandinavian origin.

The colour of the rush changes as it dries.  Eventually it will be a mellow goldy colour.

A lovely chair from Heals, freshly 'bottomed' with Thames rushes.

French Cordon Rush

This is a sedge grass wrapped with rye straw.  One of the most difficult materials to use but well worth it. 

Sometimes one finds chairs with different colour wrappings giving a striped appearance.   Very time consuming

Blind Caning sometimes known as 'French' caning

 The holes are not drilled all the way through the frame and each piece of cane has to be glued individually into each hole.  This is very time consuming and the cost reflects this: 

See   Information & Prices

A smidgen of glue is applied before securing in the hole with a plastic golf tee or  blunted nail.

'Staples' of thicker cane are cut to fit from one hole to the next and then glued in. 

Fractionally thinner cane is bent double and a little glue applied before inserting in the holes to give the appearance of couching.

This is the outside of the chair, you may be able to see that there is another layer of cane on the inside of the arm.  This is 'double caning'.  As with blind caning, it is only found on very high quality furniture.

This desk chair is made by Mellier, who made much of the furniture on the Muritania.

This is what your old riempie will look like

Riempie is surprisingly comfortable to sit on and is not intended to be used with a cushion.

More Before and After

Splicing

It is possible to patch a broken area of cane by splicing (weaving in) individual pieces of new cane and then staining to match the original.  This is only financially viable where there is a large area of cane with a relatively small hole.  Here is a Bergère Chair showing the hole, the splicing in progress and the fully restored area.

Loom Cane

There has been a resurgence in the popularity of caned furniture in the past few years.  Prewoven or loom cane is used in most of this furniture.  It is quite possible to replace a whole panel or even to splice in new pieces of cane.