We just restored this Hemp Seat Chair. It was in sad shape when we found it but with a little love and time, it is now sitting happily in our guest bedroom. Use these step by step instructions to Restore a Hemp Seat Chair
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This chair with a hemp seat didn’t look this way when we found it. In fact, it was on the way to the garbage but I totally fell in love with it. The hubby wasn’t so sure about it but since he is a sweetie, he gave me the benefit of doubt and jumped on board to save this chair.
How to restore a hemp seat chair
This old hemp seat chair was in sad shape, the wood was very dry. West Texas is hard on wood furniture especially neglected wood furniture.
We started by cutting off the woven seat and removing all the dust and debris. We used a good wood cleaner and then when it was dry we doused the wood with furniture oil.
We purchased 2 rolls of this 1/4 inch hemp rope totaling about 100 feet at our local hardware store.
We begin the weave by typing the rope to the rear railing on the seat and then began stringing it back and forth wrapping twice on each run. Tie the end off with a knot.
Start the horizontal weave by tying the hemp rope to the side rail and start weaving side to side, wrapping the hemp around the wood side rail twice on each run.
Pull the horizontal weaves as tight as possible to the front as you work to the rear. The hubby made this little tool by using a metal rod and black electrical tape and it worked extremely well to pull those weaves tight.
Before tying off the rope, wrap the hemp around each side several times to fill in the gaps between the horizontal (side) runs.
Cassie, our border collie is keeping a sharp eye on our progress on the restore of a hemp seat chair. Not! Cassie is our shop dog, it doesn’t matter what we are working on, it doesn’t matter if the hubby is using loud power tools, that’s what she does, sleep near the action.
We have finished the restore of this hemp seat chair and it looks so quaint sitting in our guest room. This hemp bottom chair is one of my favorite remakes to date. (secret-I just found another old chair similar to this and I can’t wait to start on it)
But for Now, I’m off to Antique Farm House to find accessories and decor for this guestroom. I saved enough money on this chair to buy some really cool items.
If you enjoyed this post about how to restore a Hemp Seat Chair then:
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How to Remove Veneer from Furniture easily and painlessly.
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Julia Klimek
May 28, 2014 at 12:47 pmThat is amazing! Your chair looks adorable! My hubby brought home a little chair in about the same condition as yours was… I didn't think I could fix it, without paying a fortune to have it done by a pro ~ wonder if I could do this? Pinning and will let you know if I figure this out!
Suzan Sweatman
May 30, 2014 at 12:05 amOh it turned out amazing Evelyn – LOVE it !!! ( don't think I could fix that as well as you did )
xoxo
Kathe
June 8, 2014 at 1:25 pmI love it Evelyn! Such a sweet rescue 🙂
Bobbie S
June 8, 2014 at 1:39 pmLove it!
Sailorchronos
June 8, 2014 at 1:42 pmNicely done! Something like that is perfect for sitting on a porch during the summer.
Zakkiya Hamza
June 8, 2014 at 2:34 pmI love how you upcylced that chair. You're really clever !
Christine Graves
June 8, 2014 at 8:58 pmAwww I love it! You did a beautiful job! Now you can enjoy it for years to come….
Ami Jo King
June 12, 2014 at 4:42 amWow! The chair looks fabulous!
Abby Young
March 19, 2018 at 6:57 amI’m doing this weave to a lawn chair!! Do you have an easy way to keep the hemp from tangling!!
Evelyn
March 20, 2018 at 12:24 pmI’m really not sure, I didn’t have that issue, the only issue I had was the hemp unwinding so I placed a bit of tape around the very end of the hemp rope
Beth
April 10, 2018 at 8:04 pmI have a metal chair skeleton that I want to upcycle. I have to thank you because post was exactly what I’ve been looking for! My question has to do with the hemp tie-offs. You tied the hemp to the chair seat for stability. Did you then have to remove the tie-off as the last step, or just leave it there, or finish it some other way?
Evelyn
April 10, 2018 at 8:39 pmWe left all the hemp on the chair.It became the seat of the chair.
Denise Yankie
April 15, 2018 at 8:31 pmI want to get started trying to do a couple of chairs. I’m not sure about the length of the rope. Is it one continuous length of the rope for the whole chair or do you you cut it after you weave it back and forth one time?
Evelyn
April 18, 2018 at 2:30 pmI did cut it after weaving in one direction and started over again in the other direction.
Teresa
August 17, 2018 at 12:25 pmBeautiful and detailed instructions This question may have an obvious answer. Will this hold up to regular use? I want to redo my ladder back dining room chairs.