Rush seating, employing either genuine rush or substitutes, may be done to good advantage and with excellent results in manual training shops. No equipment is needed to maintain such work. The addition of a woven seat to a chair or stool constructed in the shops will necessarily employ a new, interesting medium in conjunction with woodwork; and materially increase the pupils’ knowledge of materials and possible combinations. And, as with caning, the resultant interest in the work at hand more than justifies its introduction in manual training shops. Rush seating employs a very simple weave. Different materials employed in weaving naturally require different degrees of skill, and the difficulties encountered are those resulting from handling materials and not because of the complexity of the weave. One may very readily undertake the rushing of ordinary seat frames after a study of printed directions and illustrations. It should be understood at the outset that, in discussing rush seating, materials other than genuine rush are included in the term.Historical.—In the British Museum in London is a seat of curious shape of Egyptian manufacture, which, it is estimated, was made previous to 4000 B.C. A small amount of rush still clings to the seat frame. The relative date of the construction and weaving of the chair seat would indicate that rush seating is by no means a modern art, altho at present rush is extensively employed in furniture.

The use of rush in England dates no earlier than 1720. Several types of chairs were made there between that date and 1870. In France rush was used extensively in the seating of furniture of Normandy and Brittany about 1750. Flanders produced rush seated chairs at an early date, and many were constructed in this country in early colonial days, prior to 1776, as well as later. Such chairs were undoubtedly patterned after those brought over from Holland, France, and England to the early settlements in America both before and after the Revolutionary War.

In early times rush always served a function in the seats of chairs and stools, and was very seldom if ever used on the better class of furniture. The use of cane or rush on furniture for decorative purposes only is distinctly a modern idea. Utility rather than beauty prompted the introduction of seats of rush.

Modern furniture of excellent design and workmanship employs rush seats. These are either woven over a separate frame and inserted or are an integral part of the chair, being woven over the seat rails of the chair itself. Fig. 36 shows a modern adaptation of a ladder back chair with rush seat. The rush on this chair is woven over the rails. Fig. 37 shows a flat view of the seat.Rush.—Rush is the name applied to many fistular, stemlike plants of similar or like growth. Properly, rush belongs to the sedge family. The different species vary greatly in appearance; some are low and slender, some are tall and leafless, and some are broad leaved. They are found in wet places thruout the northern hemisphere, along banks of sluggish streams, and in lowlands and marshes. The great bulrush is common and familiar, while the chair-maker’s rush is not as well known. The plants most commonly known as rush are called by the names of flag and cattail. In fact, flag and cattail are very generally used for rush seating. The technical names of the different species of rush are not pertinent or desirable here.

Other Materials.—Materials other than rush may be used for rush seating, as has been stated. Rush is rather hard to manage in that no appreciable length may be handled because of the shortness of the leaf. Twisting is necessary. Fiber, or similar materials, is to be recommended for shop use because a great length is procurable, and the twist is made. It is made of machine-twisted paper, and comes in long indefinite lengths. It is tough, strong, and serviceable, and procurable in spools of about one hundred pounds each. Fig. 38 shows such a spool together with a bundle of rush. It is manufactured with or without a flexible wire center and costs from 10 to 15 cents a pound. It may be had in several colors and sizes.

Raffia is well known thru its general use in basketry and allied work. In rush seating it has no conspicuous place, altho it may be utilized to great advantage. Raffia is the leaf of a certain palm, cut in narrow widths and varying in length from 2 to 5 feet. It is bought in hanks by the pound, bleached or unbleached, and in colors. The natural unbleached raffia costs about 25 cents per pound; colored about 75 cents. The hanks should not be untied, but as strands are needed they should be pulled out from the head end of the hank. If improperly handled, raffia will become badly tangled.

Corn husks, taken from close to the ear, may be used, particularly for seating chairs of toy furniture. The husks near the ear are not as coarse and brittle as those outside. The shortness of the husks precludes their general use, altho they produce an excellent seat when properly woven.

The materials mentioned by no means exhaust the list of available mediums for rush seating, but will give considerable and sufficient variety for shopwork. As the weaver comes to appreciate the limits and advantages of the various mediums for certain grade work, he may utilize local plants and grasses suitable for such work.Preparation of Materials.—Rush—and in the term are included cattail and flag—is common to almost any locality in our northern states. It should be gathered when full grown and still green. It is ready for cutting when the tips of the leaves begin to turn brown. This is usually about the middle of August. The leaves are tied in loose bundles for convenience in handling, and dried in the shade, preferably a darkened room. They should remain here until thoroly dry. Before using, soak the rush about ten hours in water. Less time is required if warm water is used. When it is soft and pliable it is ready for weaving.

Before weaving, the butt ends of the leaves are cut off about a foot from the base. These are too coarse and stiff to weave properly. One leaf may be used or two leaves may be twisted together to make a strand. Three leaves make a coarse strand, two a medium, and one a fine strand. A long, tight twist is necessary to produce an even, smooth strand. The twisting is always done in one direction. One leaf is recommended for beginners in rush seating, for adding to one is much simpler than adding to several. The under side of the seat need not be as smooth and as well woven as the top. In fact, twisting need not be done underneath at all unless the individual worker so desires.

Raffia is easy to manipulate because of its pliability, even when dry. Several lengths will need to be twisted together to produce a strand of sufficient size. It requires little soaking to make it ready for use. Raffia produces an even, smooth surface of pleasing appearance, and is very desirable in a seat.

Fiber may be woven as it comes from the spool. However, it is better to dampen it by plunging a quantity in water and removing at once. When it dries after weaving, a slight shrinkage results, thereby making a tauter seat than could be woven with dry strands. Inasmuch as the fiber is paper, it cannot be soaked in water.The Weaving Process.—With the frame ready and rush in proper condition the weaving may be started. Fig. 39 shows an isometric drawing on which corners are lettered and the rails numbered in order. Fig. 40 shows another drawing on which the corners and rails are similarly lettered and numbered, showing graphically the method of weaving the first strand. The arrows indicate the direction of weave. The operation is practically complete once around the frame. Reference may be made to either drawing in the following detailed directions for weaving.

Start arbitrarily at any corner—in this case, A. A strand of rush tightly twisted is laid over rail 1 next to the cap with its short end turned down. The beginner may find it advantageous to tack the end in place. Draw the strand over the edge and bottom of rail 1 and up at the inner corner, then over the top and edge of rail 2. This binds the loose end in place if it has not been previously tacked. Pull the strand directly across the frame opening to the top of rail 3 at corner B. Draw it over the edge of the same rail and under, then up at the inner corner and over the top and edge of rail 1. Pull directly across the frame opening to the top of rail 4 at corner C. The operations at corners C and D are identical to those at A and B, and these repeat themselves indefinitely at each corner, or until the seat is completed. This applies to square seats only. The end of the last strand may be secured with a tack under the proper rail, or twisted around a strand underneath the seat.

The strand is twisted as the weaving progresses. This may be done with the palm of the hand and thigh, in much the same manner as a shoemaker waxes his thread. If one leaf of rush is used to make the strand, new leaves are added by tying the two ends in a square knot at a corner, or wherever such joining will not show on the finished seat. When more than one piece of rush is used for a strand the pieces should be of uneven lengths initially. One leaf or piece at a time is then added. The upper or top end of the leaf is used to begin the seating and each leaf added is attached at its top end.

Some expert rush seaters do not tie knots in making strands, but add leaves by twisting the end of the preceding leaf about the added one, “like the color on a barber pole,” as one old rush weaver remarked. Adding by twisting only is difficult, and requires great patience and dextrous handling of the material. In fact rush should be used by the more skilful boys only. Others may use the excellent substitute, fiber. Care must be exercised to keep the strands from overlapping improperly at the corners. The strands should fit snugly where they go over the rails. To assure this, tap them sharply with a mallet used over a block of soft wood. This may be done at frequent intervals or when several strands have been woven over each rail. Uniform tension on the strand is desirable and this should be tight.

As the work progresses the interior between the upper and lower rows of strands is stuffed. This is done with the same material as that used in the weaving. The butt ends of rush are used to stuff the seat of rush; raffia is used to stuff a raffia seat; craft paper to stuff a fiber seat; and so on. The packing should be done in a thoro manner, for it builds up the seat and prevents its breaking down at the inner edges of the rails, and sagging with continued use. A slightly curved hardwood stick about 12 in. long may be used to advantage to do this work. Fig. 41 shows a sketch of such a stick. It is ¾ in. in diameter at one end and tapered to ½ in. by ? in. at the other. Considerable force needs to be exerted in packing, and caution used to avoid breaking strands.Rectangular Seats.—As stated, in weaving a square seat the initial process is repeated at all corners until all openings are filled. In rectangular seats the spaces on the short rails will fill before those on the long rails. Weaving around corners is then manifestly impossible. Fig. 42 shows a partly woven seat with the short rails filled, and the process of filling up the remaining area under way. The method is this: Go over and under a long rail, across half the frame opening and up thru, then across the remaining distance, and over and under the other long rail. Repeat until the seat is completed. Fig. 43 is a sketch of a partly woven seat, illustrating the method of filling in the center just described. It supplements the photograph and makes the method clearer.

It should be noted that the strands in crossing at the center must be compressed one-half of their diameters. They will need to be tapped sharply with a small mallet or hammer to produce proper crowding. Fig. 44 shows a stool seat of fiber woven by an eighth grade boy. Fig. 45 shows the complete stool. The seat is woven over a separate frame and inserted. Fig. 46 is a child’s chair of oak, with a seat of fiber woven over the rails of the chair.Irregular Seats.—The usual or standard shape of chair seat is like the one illustrated in the drawing, Fig. 47. The front rail is longer than the back, and the side rails are equal in length. Seats of this shape are rather difficult to weave because special treatment is necessary to fill up portions of certain rails.

With reference made to the drawing, the method employed in locating lines for rushing, and for rushing such a seat is this: With the beam of a square laid against rail 4 with its corner against the cap at corner A, scribe a pencil line across rail 2. Similarly, mark the same rail using the square against rail 4 at corner D. Stated in other words, these lines may be obtained by determining the difference in length between the front and back rails, and laying off one-half this difference from each corner on the front rail. This distance is indicated by the brackets in the drawing.

Now tie with a string as many strands of rush as will be needed to fill in this difference between front and back rails. Fasten them underneath the rail at corner A. Then use one strand, twisted, and weave around corners B and C and fasten under the rail at corner D. The weaving is identical to that described in square seats. Weave in each strand in the bundle at the same corners and tie under the rail at corner D; or until the spaces marked off on the front rail are filled. It may be necessary to add to or to remove strands from the bundle if calculations as to number of strands necessary were inaccurate. Tie all loose ends together at corner D, fasten securely and cut off all extra lengths.

Start now as in beginning a weave on a square seat, weaving around all corners in the regular way. The first strand around will effectively bind the bundles of ends at corners A and D.Suggestions.—In using paper fiber or similar materials which come in long lengths, a strand 20 or 25 ft. in length may be used at one time in weaving. For convenience in handling it should be formed in a loop and held together with a strong rubber band. The strand may be unlooped a little at a time as the weaving progresses. In using rush, raffia, and like materials, the strand is made as the weaver works, so at no time is there a strand exceeding 5 ft. or so in length to handle. No special expedient is therefore needed.

Raffia, fiber, etc., may be purchased from supply houses and in many cases direct from the manufacturers. Rush may be gathered in many communities by an energetic instructor and pupils, and properly cured. In fact, gathering the raw material and preparing it for use is desirable in many ways, and is to be encouraged. Ordinarily rush may be obtained from manufacturers of rush seats. It costs 15 cents per pound, dry.

Fig. 48 is a working drawing of a stool or seat. The constructed problem would appear very similar to the one shown in Fig. 45. The seat frame is fastened to the base with concealed screws. The upper caps are temporarily fastened until the weaving is completed, when they are removed and the frame fastened to the base as indicated. The caps are then replaced permanently. Generally speaking, for initial work in rush seating it is advisable to weave over a separate frame. Such a frame is conveniently handled, and better work will result.Finish.—Some agent to preserve a rush seat is necessary. Rush should be coated with equal parts of oil and turpentine, followed by two coats of tough, elastic varnish. The necessary time should elapse between coats. Some manufacturers do not use oil, and apply varnish only. Raffia and husk seats should be treated as rush. Fiber is varnished only. A brittle varnish is to be avoided, for it will chip off with a little use, and a seat is subject to hard wear.