New Feature -- Wednesday Wicker Wisdom

Since almost everyone lumps together the terms, wicker furniture, chair caning, seatweaving, and basketry all into calling it “wicker,” this new weekly wicker segment might be about any of the three: wicker furniture, seatweaving, or basketweaving.

Chair caning repair charges and price sign at The Wicker Woman shop in 1995. — The Wicker Woman 1995 repair price sign

Wednesday Wicker Wisdom: Possible Topics

I’m interested in learning about these heritage crafts of seatweaving, chair caning, and basketweaving, but don’t know where to start. Can you help me?
Are you confused about what all these weaving terms actually mean and refer to?
Are there different terms for the weaving materials?
Are there different terms for the weaving patterns on chair seats? Are some weaves harder to do than others?
I love all the old antique pieces, but how can I refresh or upscale them?
What is the difference between chair caning and rush weaving? Aren’t they both chair caning?

Cathryn Peters demonstrating chair caning techniques at a department store crafts event in 2005. — Cathryn Peters doing a chair caning demo in a department store 2005

Join me each Wednesday as we explore various aspects and topics within the wicker and cane weaving industry, including weaving materials, tools of the trade, wicker furniture designs and eras, and Danish modern designers and architects, among others.

Antique Victorian Wicker Furniture collage — Antique Victorian Reed Wicker Furniture

Maybe you have some of these questions?

Are you a furniture flipper or DIY enthusiast who needs to know what to look for when purchasing wicker or cane furniture for resale?

Do you own a Shaker tape-seated chair and want to know the history regarding the religious sect that produced these lovely, practical pieces of furniture? Would you like to try weaving this type of chair seat, too?

Be sure to post in the comment section below, anything you’d like discussed or maybe have questions about.

Cathryn Peters demo making a bee skep using wheat straw.

Have questions about basketry?

Questions about basketmaking and basket weaving are on the table, too. What questions do you want to have answered about weaving baskets?

Need a list of the best basketweaving reference books to buy? Need to know all the best tools to buy? Where to get supplies and raw materials?

Maybe you need to have the terms of round reed, willow, plaiting, triple twining, arrow weave, fitching, awl, bark weaving and three-rod wale defined?

Collage of cane and basket raw materials, supplies, books and tools. — Cane and Basket Supplies

Want to know what region of the country produces and is best known for its pine needle baskets, black ash baskets, birch bark baskets, cedar baskets, river cane baskets, Shaker baskets, and willow baskets?

What are the questions you’d like discussed on the weekly Wednesday Wicker Wisdom blog posts?

Don’t miss the wicker weaving discussions!

We will touch on all this and more with the launch of the official “WEDNESDAY WICKER WISDOM!” here on the Weavin’ Wicker Woman’s Blog! Stay tuned!

And if you are reading this later in the year, be sure to check the Wicker Wisdom category right over there, on the right-hand sidebar.