Ever since seeing the woven stools at Target earlier this year I've wanted to try my hand at making something with the pretty rope selection from Lowe's. A few months ago I came across this wooden stool with a cracked and brittle seat and knew it was the perfect base for my project. I've turned this into a stool for my new studio space in the basement and have promised it to Sebastian whenever he gets his own room.
One thing I've learned when replacing something on a piece is to study things in their original form before taking them apart. This woven seat had a particular weave on top and I decided to go ahead and mimic it after trying a few other patterns. It's woven on the top side as wel as the bottom to create quite a sturdy seat.
1. Supplies: A sturdy wooden stool or chair with a woven seat that needs replacing. One bundle of para cord (found at Lowe's), scissors, hammer, nail. I preferred the natural wood finish but it would also look nice spray painted in a coordinating color. 3. Tuck the end of the rope under so that it's on the inside of the stool sticking up but not sticking high enough to poke through the seat. Nail two small nails in about half way and then bend them over to opposite sides to secure the rope to the stool. 4. Wrap your rope over an even number of times to fill in the stool space.
5. When you get to the corner at the top, wrap it under and to the right so that it wraps up onto the empty dowel of your seat or stool. 6. Weave over two and under two until you get to the other side and then repeat weaving over two and under two on the bottom side. 7. When you get to the next row, go under the first rope and then start your pattern again going over two and under two. With the third row go under two and then over two until you finish the top and bottom. With the fourth row go over the first cord and under two and continue as shown. Your fifth row you'll go over the first two cords and then under two, etc. Start over again. This will give you a nice pattern in the end. 8. When you get to the end, cut your rope so that it's about 1 inch from the end and burn it so it doesn't fray. Then weave it so that it's inside the seat where it can't be seen.
I love the colors in this rope and have a feeling it will last us awhile!
I've got about half a bundle of this rope left over so there are surely more rope projects on the horizon! Have you ever recovered a seat? What material did you use?
You can find a few of my other weaving projects below. If you're feeling really brave you can even make your own rug!
-Rachel
I'm Rachel Denbow, an author, e-course writer, maker, craft stylist, and general DIY enthusiast. 
