Also see Sussex Chair Part 9 film for more advanced rush seating.
How to make a traditional rush seat for a chair - and to replace the rush seat of an old antique chair, using traditional freshwater river rush.
In this film I show you how I made a new rush seat for a very nice antique side chair. I had not done any rush seating before, but myself and a group of bodgers (green woodworkers) had the expert guidance of a very experienced chair rush seater, who was able to show us exactly what to to, and the finished chair is great.
We used freshwater river rush from the River Thames, that flows through London. It was great having an expert show us how to weave the seat and join the strands of rush together, and to pack everything tightly, to end up with a very satisfactory seat. In making the film I go into quite a bit of detail, and run over knotting and twisting the rush with close up and more distant views, so that you can really see what is going on. I could have made this into a shorter video, but I have intentionally kept it longer so that you have sufficient detailed information to have a go at this yourself, assuming that you have not tried it before.
Its very satisfying making a whole seat, and bringing a chair back into life to serve another generation - I hope you enjoy the video, and please ask any questions or comment below.