Weaving Shaker Tape Seats

Synopsis: Glenn A. Carlson makes Shaker chairs for a living, and here he explains how easy it is to weave chair seats using cotton Shaker tape and basic tools (though he advises getting a surgical clamp and a wooden weaving needle). You wrap the warp first and fill the center with foam, then weave the weft.

Follow his step-by-step instructions to create a comfortable seat and back for your Shaker chair project.

I make Shaker chairs for a living. I also serve as the resident chairmaker at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass., where I periodically teach people to weave chair seats. My students are often surprised to discover how easy the technique is to master.

The early Shakers made their chair tape from wool. Later, they switched to cotton. I prefer cotton tape to other woven seat material because it’s durable, comfortable, easy to apply and available in a variety of colors. (Two sources of cotton tape are Connecticut Cane and Reed; 860-646-6586 and H.H. Perkins; 203-389-9501.) This is the same material that the military uses for belts and backpack straps, so it’s durable.

You can weave a seat with only a few basic tools. You may already have most of them in your shop. There are likely to be two exceptions: a steel surgical clamp and a wooden weaving needle. You could weave a seat without either of these tools, but they’ll make the job a lot easier.

The surgical clamp, also called a hemostat, is a cross between a pair of scissors and a Vise-Grip. You can use it to grab and pull the cotton tape, or you can double the tape over the nose of the tool and push it through a tight space. You should be able to buy one at a surgical-supply or a fishtackle shop for $5 to $10. A wooden needle also can be used to thread the tape. I fabricated mine from a discarded chair slat.

Applying Shaker tape is relatively simple. First you wrap one piece of tape around the seat rungs from front to back. This is called the warp. On an average-sized chair, the warp is approximately 20 yds. long. The second piece of tape, called the weft, is woven through the warp from side to side. When weaving two colors of tape, always use the darker color for the warp because it covers the front rung where the seat will soil the most.

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