Bayou Seatweaver
Traditional / Hand Cane
Cane weaves date back as far as Egyptian times with artifacts such as a woven daybed discovered that once belonged to King Tutankhamen, (1325 B. C.). Chair seat weaving, and especially chair caning was practiced in South East Asia, Portugal, France, and England in the mid-1600s, becoming very popular and extensively used through the 1700-1800s and on into the early 1900s.
The techniques and materials have not changed much in all the years and only a few common tools are necessary to repair chair seats, making chair caning a craft that nearly anyone can master with just a little patience and tenacity.
Blind Cane
Blind chair caning means that every strand has to be measured, custom cut for the chair, and threaded through the pattern where it is then glued into its hole. In the early 20th century, it was very common for chair caning to be taught at schools for the blind. Caned chairs were common, chair caners were much in demand, and people frequently brought their chairs to schools for the blind for recaning.