Looping and weaving long, thin strands of cane with nimble fingers, Alice Higgins prides herself on continuing a centuries-old craft.

“It’s been practiced in Southeast Asia, Portugal, France and England since the mid-1600s,” Higgins explained. “The techniques haven’t changed much. Weaving requires only a few common tools you probably already have, so you only need the desire, a little patience and some tenacity.”

Her passion for the craft led her to start her own business. Previously working part-time for a furniture refinisher, the Augusta County native saw a need for weavers. After studying a library book, and lots of trial and error, she honed her skills and opened Higgins Chair Caning in 2005.

Now she helps customers from all over the East Coast and has a shop in an antique mall where she weaves and sells restored antique furniture and caning supplies.

“Woven chairs can fit into any décor,” she said. “The craftsmanship is exquisite. It’s hard to find the same quality in factory-made furniture.”

A peaceful process

Higgins said each individual chair “dictates the weave for the most part.” She explained that holes lining a chair seat’s perimeter indicate the seat is hand caned, one strand at a time. But if there’s a groove around the seat, it requires a pre-woven material called pressed cane that’s manufactured in rolls or sheets.

One of the most common weaving techniques is the seven-step method—weaving cane in vertical and horizontal directions before going diagonal—forming the traditional octagon pattern seen on many antique chairs. There’s also rush, which is weaving twisted fibers from the outside of the chair frame to the inside, creating four triangular shapes that meet in the middle.

Danish cord is a more contemporary look and is woven on the chair frame, creating a special basket weave design. Splint is a type of flat material made from rattan reed, ash, oak or hickory that’s woven in herringbone or basket weave patterns and commonly seen on Southern porch rockers.

Then there’s blind cane.

“It’s called blind cane because you don’t see it from the back,” Higgins explained. “The holes don’t come all the way through, and you have to end each strand right there in the hole and peg it as you go.”

Preserving antique heirlooms

For Tommy Kwesi Asante, working on caned and woven furniture is about restoring special memories or giving new life to an heirloom passed down through generations.

“When people come pick it up, they feel so satisfied to see it in pristine form that’s going to outlive them, and they can pass it on,” he said.

Owner of The Master’s Touch Furniture Service in Fredericksburg, Asante entered the business in 2014 when he immigrated to the U.S. from Ghana with his family. Already an established wood carver in his home country, he learned to cane and weave from the shop’s previous owner, who eventually retired and left the business to Asante.

“The most common type of repair is the chair seat,” he remarked. “Maybe a grandchild jumped on the chair or it just weakened over time.”

Asante explained that fixing caned seats is the final step in the restoration process—the rest of the chair must first be repaired if necessary. Old cane is removed with a knife and chisel before new cane is woven or pressed cane installed.

“You have to soak it in water before you work with it,” Asante explained about pressed cane. “Soaking it gives you the flexibility” to work the material without it breaking. After it’s applied, a rounded spline cane is glued on top to keep the pressed cane in place.

While Asante acknowledged there aren’t many people currently caning or weaving—the time commitment and importing materials can be less profitable from a business standpoint—he believes preserving the ancient art is important.

“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s classic. There’s always a satisfaction in the work of art and using your own hands.”