How to cane a chair, step by step
The short answer
Hand caning means weaving strands of cane through a row of holes around the seat. You build the seat in seven passes: three layers laid across each other, a fourth layer woven over and under, two diagonals, and an edging that finishes the holes.
You need cane in the two widths of the old seat, some reed for pegs and edging, an awl, scissors, sandpaper, wood glue and warm water. Keep the smooth side of the cane up, don’t pull too hard, and never put more than two diagonals down one hole.
- Level
- Demanding, but learnable
- Cane
- Two widths, e.g. 2 + 2.5 mm
- Passes
- 7: layers, zigzag, diagonals, edging
- In our course
- 22 video lessons
First: is it hand caning or cane webbing?
Look at the frame around the seat. If there is a row of small holes drilled all the way around, the chair is made for hand caning, and this is your guide. If there is a groove instead, with no holes, the chair takes prewoven cane webbing, which is pressed into the groove and locked with a spline. That’s a different job: see how to install cane webbing, or our cane webbing course.
Not sure about the rest of the chair? Our guide to the five kinds of woven seats shows how to tell them apart.
What you need
Measure the old cane before you buy. Most seats use two widths: a narrower one for the layers and a slightly wider one for the diagonals.
Materials
- Cane in two widths the shiny outer skin of rattan, sold in bundles (typically 250 g). Match the old seat: on Marie’s Thonet chair, 2 mm for the layers and 2.5 mm for the diagonals.
- Rattan reed the core of rattan, for pegs and for the plugs in the edging.
- Wood glue a tiny dab in each hole when you finish the edge.
- Warm water and a glass of water by the chair to wet your fingertips.
Tools
- Pegs cut from reed. Golf tees or small sticks work too.
- An awl or a pointed needle to lift strands and find your way.
- Scissors
- A thin flat screwdriver to open a crowded hole.
- A mandrel or anything flat, like a broken drill bit, to tap plugs down.
- Sandpaper and a drill to clear the old holes and smooth the edge.
- Tape measure or calliper to measure the old cane.
- A cloth or mat on the floor so the chair doesn’t get scratched as you turn it.
How to cane a chair in nine steps
The order Marie follows in the course. Each step names the lessons where you can watch it up close.
Step 1: Prepare the frame
Remove the old seat: sometimes it peels off, otherwise drill the old cane out of each hole with a bit slightly smaller than the hole. Don’t drill into a leg below.
Then sand the inner edge of the seat rail. Old chairs often have a sharp edge that cuts into new cane, and that’s where many seats break. You can’t do it once the seat is woven.
In the course: Lesson 2
Step 2: Soak only what you’ll use soon
Take a few lengths of cane and hold them under the hot tap until they are supple. Only wet what you can weave in about a quarter of an hour: wet cane you don’t use soon just dries out again. Keep a glass of water close so you can wet your fingertips while you weave.
In the course: Lessons 3, 6 and 11
Step 3: Find the middle and peg the first strand
Count the holes along the front and along the back to find the middle. On some chairs the middle falls between two holes, so also trust your eye: the first strand should look straight.
Push the end down through the middle hole and fix it with a peg. Bring the strand across, down through the opposite hole and up through the next one. Keep the smooth side up all the way, and keep your thumb under the strand where it comes through, or it breaks easily. It doesn’t need to be tighter than that.
In the course: Lesson 3
Step 4: Layer 1: fill the seat one way
Work out from the middle to one side, then the other. On a round seat the distance between strands should stay the same, so sometimes you skip a hole. If a hole is blocked, for example by a screw, push the strand in as far as it goes and peg it, or skip the hole. Your photo of the old seat shows which holes were used.
Loose ends are fine for now. They are secured when you finish the edge.
Square seat? Then the spacing takes care of itself.
In the course: Lessons 3–4
Step 5: Layer 2: across, on top
Lay the second layer across the first, on top, the same way: find the middle by counting, peg it, and keep the spacing even. Near the curve, choose the hole that keeps the distance right rather than a jump that’s too far.
In the course: Lessons 5–6
Step 6: Layer 3: back over the first
The third layer goes on top of everything, in the same holes as layer 1. Simply follow the first layer. A strand with a crack goes out: you don’t want that in the weave.
Working on the floor lets you tip the chair over to reach the holes from below. Some weavers prefer a table. Do what works for you.
In the course: Lessons 7–8
Step 7: Zigzag: weave the fourth layer
Now the weaving starts. The fourth strand runs in the same holes as layer 2, and it always goes over the top strand and under the bottom strand of each pair: over one, under one, all the way across, and on the way back the row starts under. It’s an ordinary plain weave. Marie’s family calls it zigzag.
Your fingers are the fastest tool. Use the awl only where it gets tight, usually in the first and last rows. Wet your fingertips so the cane slides, and let a long strand make a loose bend instead of pulling the whole length through at once.
When the layer is done, straighten the rows and push the strands together in pairs. It makes the diagonals much easier.
Over the top strand, under the bottom one. Swap it and the pattern goes odd.
In the course: Lessons 9–14
Step 8: The pattern: two diagonals
The diagonals make the open, octagonal pattern. Take the wider cane and weave diagonally across the seat, over two and under two: over the pair one way, under the pair the other way.
There is a right and a wrong way round. Done right, the diagonal slides into the corner of each little square. Done the opposite way, it lies across the corner and can be lifted back out. Marie has seen whole seats woven the wrong way round.
On a first seat it’s easiest to weave all of one diagonal before the other; the pattern comes out the same either way. Aim for a neat cross where the diagonals meet, though a round seat won’t allow it everywhere. Some diagonals share a hole, but never put more than two diagonals down one hole. Short gaps along the edge are filled with short pieces. Once the diagonals cross, the weave holds itself and the pegs can come out.
In the course: Lessons 15–18
Step 9: Edge, glue and finish
Look at how the old seat was finished and do the same. Some chairs have a decorative edge; it doesn’t hold anything, so only add one if your chair had it. Wet the ends around the edge with a soft dish brush, so they don’t crack as you work, and be careful with water on the wood.
Put a tiny dab of wood glue in each hole and tap in a plug of reed. The plug must not be too tight: it cracks easily and does more harm than good, so split a thicker piece to fit, cut it at an angle, and tap it down with a mandrel. Work on one section of the edge at a time, because the glue doesn’t set straight away, and wipe away any glue that shows.
Turn the chair over and cut the loose ends off close underneath. The new cane is lighter than the old seat. It darkens by itself over time.
In the course: Lessons 19–21
The mistakes we see most often
The rough side up
Cane has a smooth, shiny side and a rough back. The smooth side faces up in every strand, in every layer.
Pulling too hard
Cane snaps when it bends sharply over the hole. Keep a thumb under the strand where it comes through, and stop at snug, not tight.
Swapping over and under in the zigzag
The woven strand always goes over the top strand and under the bottom one. One row out of step and the pattern looks wrong.
Diagonals the wrong way round
If the strand rests across the corner instead of sliding into it, take it out and weave it over and under the opposite way.
Three diagonals in one hole
Two diagonals per hole is the maximum. A third crowds the hole and doesn’t look right.
Weaving in a bad strand
Cane is a natural material. A strand that cracks or keeps breaking because it’s too dry won’t get better in the seat. Throw it away and take a fresh one.
Soaking the whole bundle
Wet only what you can weave in about a quarter of an hour, and keep the rest dry.
A look inside the course
Reading is one thing; seeing the hands is another. In the course you follow Marie from torn seat to finished chair, close up, with every layer, every tricky hole and every fix along the way.
What’s in the course
- Introduction (1)
- Preparation (1)
- Layer 1 (2)
- Layer 2 (2)
- Layer 3 (2)
- Zigzag (6)
- The pattern (4)
- Edging and finish (3)
- Materials and tools (1)
Questions we get a lot
What size cane do I need?
Measure the old cane with a tape measure or calliper. Most seats use two widths: a narrower one for the layers and a slightly wider one for the diagonals. Marie’s Thonet chair used 2 mm and 2.5 mm. Don’t go wider than the original: it gets too hard to weave through.
What’s the difference between cane and reed?
Both come from rattan. Cane is the shiny outer skin, cut into strands for weaving. Reed is the core, which we use for pegs and for the plugs in the edging.
Can a beginner cane a chair?
Yes, with patience. Hand caning is the most demanding of the seats we teach, so if you have the choice, a [Danish cord](course:papirgarn) or [seagrass](course:soegraes) seat is an easier first project. The hand caning course starts from scratch.
Should I stain the new cane?
You can, but cane is hard to stain evenly: the surface is smooth and the small knots take colour differently. Test the colour on a piece of paper first. Left alone, the cane darkens slowly by itself.
How do I look after a caned seat?
Once or twice a year, brush a thin layer of liquid paraffin (vaseline oil) on the rough underside. Don’t water the seat: the cane isn’t alive, and water only dries it out over time.
Watch every move, at your own pace
Hand caning is easier to learn by watching than by reading. Follow Marie through 22 short lessons, pause where you need to, and keep the videos forever.