Restoring Rush Seats, Rush Seat Chairs

"What shall we do when the rushed seat in that old chair is completely worn through?"

Why, rush it yourself. If you live near a marshy place where the rushes grow they can be gathered, cured, and the chair re-rushed all in your own home.

The time to gather rushes is late in July; and a barn loft is the best place for drying them, because they can be spread on the floor, permitting a good circulation of air around them without exposure to the sun's direct rays. Wherever they are dried some precaution against sun-scorching must be taken, and they must also be turned occasionally, so that all parts of the long leaves will dry evenly. This will take a week, perhaps longer, depending upon the dampness of the atmosphere. When thoroughly cured they will be changed from their original bright green to a dull-yellow green, and their texture will be rather brittle, too brittle to be twisted into the long rushing rolls.

So the night before the chair is to be rushed, two big armfuls of rushes (that is about the quantity for an ordinary-sized seat) must be "dampened down." A big piece of canvas, or several sacks, or even some old sheets, will do for this. Whatever is used should be wrung out of hot water. While this is still steaming, the rushes are spread out on it and the cloth rolled up like a jelly roll. The bundle must then be put into a closet or some air-tight place overnight. The idea is to get the rushes evenly dampened but not water-soaked.

However, even with this much care it is best to squeeze out superfluous water and the air before commencing the seat. The squeezing process is simply pressing a blunt-edged stick against the rush from stem to tip end. The air usually leaves with a snap. And if the leaf is thoroughly prepared it will have an elastic quality. It is wise not to prepare the entire dampened bundle before beginning the real work, because after the leaves are squeezed they dry quickly, and the last might be too dry for finishing the work.

Three rushes twisted together make a medium-heavy roll. Be sure to place stem and tip ends together so as to equalize the thickness throughout the entire work. The twist that is given should be long and smooth, never short and abrupt. To begin with, twist about six inches and start the work in the upper right corner of the frame by laying the twisted end over the frame of the chair, end pointing through the seat. Bring the twisted roll around under the frame and to the right, passing over and around the right side of the frame close to the corner and across to the left side. The beginning end is held tight against the corner by this time, and the roll will be just long enough to go over and around the left side of the frame. The first half of the illustration shows this much of the work.

Now three new rushes must be tied on. The old and new ends are allowed to stick out on the under side, and are not cut close until the seating is finished, A splicing of this kind will occur at every corner. The stubby ends will form a line from each corner to the center on the under side of the finished seat* Be sure to twist the rushes evenly at the corners, but the stretch from side to side need not be twisted at all.

As the work progresses pockets will develop at each corner both on the upper and on the under side of the rush seat chair. When the rushing reaches about one-fourth of the way across it is time to pad these pockets with the heavy or irregular ends of rush that were discarded when making the roll. These pieces should be laid parallel across the frame with their ends tucked into the pockets on the upper side of the seat. The padding is put in to prevent the seat from sagging. It is not necessary to pad both top and bottom if the top is padded quite firm.

Rushing the start.

Filling in the centre.

Most rush chair seats are narrower one way than the other; hence the rushing on the narrow side will meet while there is still a space on the wide side. This space is rushed with a figure-eight motion. Quite simple, as the second half of the illustration shows.

Really, the only hard part about repairing and putting a new rushed seat in that old chair will be the aching arms and blistered hands it will surely leave. And, of course, it must all be done in one day. No night rest and a fresh attack in the morning, because in the mean time the part already rushed will shrink and loosen. An old man who knows all about rushing from the time the rushes shoot up in the spring to the time when they get their last preserving coat on the finished chair, was once asked how long it ought to take an experienced rusher to do a seat, and he replied, "I think I can do better seating of rush chairs now than I could fifty years ago, and all I will seat is one in a day". And then he added: "But you want to understand that this will be a fine seat that will not settle - always the same until broken".

The seats are far more attractive if left the natural rush color, but something should be done to protect the rushes. Several coats of flat-finish varnish will preserve them without making the seat shiny. Of course, our great-grandmothers used to paint their rushed seats. But then the whole chair was usually painted too.

Paint is a good finish to apply to the various rush substitutes, such as heavy jute cord and the prepared rolls that can be bought for rushing. A six-ply jute cord makes a satisfactory "rush" seat. Instead of painting the finished seat the jute can be dyed before working it, and one has the advantage here of making it possible to carry out some cherished color scheme. It is, of course, a much easier process, as there is no dampening to be done, and the work can be left at any point and taken up at will. Down South the mountain folks use corn-husks for their rushing, and get very good results with a mixture of yellow and reddish husks.

Continue: Learn How to Cane Chairs.