The latest edition of this time-tested illustrated guide shows you the secrets to turning what may look like junk chairs beyond repair into treasured, eye-catching pieces of woven furniture.
If you wish to do an expert caning job, all you need are three things—a few materials, a broken chair, and The Caner's Handbook.
Authors Jim Widess and Bruce W. Miller explain restoration techniques that have been used for centuries, as well as new methods that make it especially easy to master this heritage craft for upcycling woven chairs.
• Learn techniques of traditional caning, rush, and splint as well as rare cane weaves.
• You'll find detailed, easy-to-follow instructions for repairing rattan, rawhide, and Danish-cord pieces and suggestions for prolonging the life of your woven furniture.
• Photographs of body and hand positions clearly demonstrate caning techniques.
• Helpful charts provide information on how much fiber to buy, how to determine the sizes you need, and standard lengths and widths available.
• This is the only manual that covers the weaving of a traditional rawhide seat, a simple method of using Danish cord, how to weave in the Sunburst cane patterns and others, and how to solve the caning problems of oddly shaped rush seats.
• The new and updated version includes new images, expanded details, and a new appendix on the correct method for caning "short rows" in your chairs.
To save money, drastically reduce the time you spend on restoration, or open your eyes to the possible ways of extending the life of injured furniture, turn to The Caner's Handbook and learn the benefits and joys of this heritage craft. No experience necessary—just the desire and that broken chair.
Jim Widess has been repairing all types of woven furniture professionally for over 50 years. The owner of the Caning Shop, he is an honorary lifetime member of the Seat Weavers' Guild, the only professional organization that supports chair caners in the US, England, Canada, and Australia. He lives in Berkeley, California.