Strand Chair Cane, 270 ft Hank with Binder, 2 mm to 3.5 mm

Strand cane, also called chair cane, is the glossy outer peel of the rattan palm, split into long, flat strands. It is the material for chairs that have a row of drilled holes around the seat instead of a groove. You weave it by hand in the traditional seven-step pattern: two layers front to back, two side to side, two diagonals, and a binder around the edge to finish.

A 270 ft hank is about enough for one average seat. Wrapped inside is one strand of 4 mm binder cane, the wider strip that lies over the holes when the weaving is done and is tied down with a loop of strand cane.

A few habits make the work go well:

• Soak a few strands at a time in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes, and keep the strand you are weaving damp. Dry cane splits.
• Weave shiny side up. Pull a strand through your fingers: it runs smoothly one way and catches on the nodes the other way. Weave in the smooth direction.
• Hold loose ends with caning pegs, and don't pull the first layers drum-tight. The diagonals tighten the seat, and the cane shrinks a little more as it dries.

Size follows the holes in your chair, not the size of the seat. Measure the hole diameter and the spacing from the center of one hole to the center of the next, then use this chart:

• Superfine 2 mm: 1/8 in holes, about 3/8 to 7/16 in apart
• Fine-fine 2.25 mm: 3/16 in holes, about 1/2 in apart
• Fine 2.5 mm: 3/16 in holes, about 9/16 to 5/8 in apart
• Narrow medium 2.75 mm: 1/4 in holes, about 5/8 to 11/16 in apart
• Medium 3 mm: 1/4 in holes, about 3/4 in apart
• Common 3.5 mm: 5/16 in holes, about 7/8 in apart

Measure spacing over several holes, not just two: measure from the center of the first hole to the center of the fifth or sixth, then divide by the number of gaps. Hand-drilled holes are rarely even, and the average is what counts. Then check the hole diameter with a drill bit shank or a ruler.

If your holes are small for their spacing, go one size finer. Each hole carries several passes of cane plus the binder loop, and a crowded hole is hard to finish. If you still have a piece of the old cane, measure its width in mm and match it. Torn between two sizes? Order the finer one; it is easier to work through tight holes.