This is your chance to repair that antique chair in your basement, garage, or attic! While we will discuss multiple weave patterns, the focus will be on the basic 7-step method using caning needles.

You’ll remove the old cane before weaving new cane. It’s important to not remove the old cane before class because the previous caner’s work is a valuable reference. If you don’t have a chair, thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales are good sources. Beginners should look for chairs that have a square/trapezoid shape caned area with fewer than 75 holes drilled into the wood frame. If you don’t have a chair and would like to take this class, Lynn can help you find a chair for class. (Contact The Clearing to get Lynn’s contact information.)

Caning is a labor of love that takes patience, fine motor skills, and concentration. This work is rewarded when a treasured piece of furniture is restored to its original beauty. If you have a seat that is an heirloom or one that holds great meaning, come to caning, and we will work to restore it together.

Please bring a needle-nose pliers, small spray bottle, small plastic container to hold water, and a rag. Lynn will contact students prior to class.

Lynn Phillips is a former bookstore general manager who now satisfies her personal creative passions through chair weaving as owner and operator of Hank’s Cane & Rush Restoration in Aurora, Illinois. Predominantly self-taught, Linda has mastered many of the weave patterns and the knowledge of materials necessary to sustain the art forms of cane, rush, Danish cord and Shaker tape, and their restoration. She is a board member of the Seatweavers’ Guild. Linda is a mother and grandmother dedicated to her family and friends. She loves to garden and bake sourdough bread in between working on chairs. It is her commitment to relationships and family traditions that fosters her desire to preserve generational memories. As Linda likes to say, “Every chair has a story to tell.”

Level: All Levels