Rush seating: the art of chair caning

The art of weaving

Chair caning with rush is the craft of twisting the rushes tightly and evenly into a uniform cord, from which a taut weave is made. The selection of good rushes and skilled hands make Dutch chair caning an art.

Cane and rush

The most commonly used rushes are freshwater rush and saltwater rush. Both types usually grow in the river delta; in the Netherlands these areas are now protected nature reserves, which makes Dutch rush scarcer and more valuable. Saltwater rushes are more yellow in colour and therefore often better suited to antique chairs, or for matching new weaving to chairs from existing sets.