Scavenger Chic

Replacing a Caned Seat with Padding

• By Joan
• July 12, 2018
• No Comments

This post is for all you people out there who blew out the caning on your old bench or chair and have no desire to actually replace the caning.  No worries, there is an easier alternative.

I found this little bench at an estate sale.  Because it needed some loving, it immediately caught my eye.  I have a weakness for little orphans that need a good home.

Replacing this type of caning is actually not that hard, you buy a precaned  sheet and use spline to push it into the groove surrounding the seat.  I’ll give you this Amazon link for the seat supplies…Chair Caning / Cane Caned Seat Replacement Repair Kit.  If you have individual holes then caning is a bit more difficult.

Having said all that, I’m ditching the caning  and going the padded seat route.  You’ll need 1 inch foam, quilt batting, a piece of wood wide enough to cover the caning, fabric and paint if you choose.

Cut a 1″ thick board wide enough and long enough to cover all the holes or grooves from the caning.

Using that board as a template, but adding an extra half inch to the width and length mark and cut your one inch foam.  The extra quarter inch on all sides will keep the fabric from wearing against the edge of the board.

For a nice rounded edge, trim off the corners on top of the foam.

Cut the quilt batting large enough to wrap around the foam and board  leaving a couple inches for stapling on the underside.

Use a few staples to tack in place.

Cut your fabric about the same size as the batting.  The duck cloth bird fabric was from Hobby Lobby.  Make sure you wait for a sale or use their coupon.

Use more staples for this layer.  Start from the middle, pulling tight and alternating sides as you go and work your way into the corners.  If you have a pattern on your fabric, make sure it’s positioned as you like before stapling.

Notice that you can still see a little of the caning on the left.  That might go away when I screw down the top but I wanted to make sure.

This is sort of like caulk for sewers, adding a bit of trim to fill in the gaps.

In this case I made my own upholstery piping using my leftover fabric and since I was too lazy to get my camera for this step I’ll refer you over to wiki-how for a nice tutorial on making your own piping.

Staple the new piping in place.  You could also use hot glue but you probably already have your stapler out from the padding.

I could have left the bench as it was but the wood was dry and needed a little conditioning.  Out came the dark gray chalk paint sanding the edges for a more rustic finish.

Predrill holes in the caning area where you want to screw on the seat.

Final step, finishing the chalk paint with a coat of vintage wax and attaching the top with screws.

My little bench is ready for his closeup.

Have a great weekend.  Stay inspired.

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday,