Wicker furniture with your own hands: the advantages of creation

Recently, furniture made from natural materials has become increasingly popular. It is beautiful, environmentally friendly, has a special warmth, is durable, does not cause allergic reactions, and creates a special atmosphere of coziness and comfort. Wicker products occupy a special place in the furniture market. But furniture made by yourself is considered a special chic and a source of pride.

The Benefits of Making Furniture Yourself

Made by hand, such furniture has advantages and certain disadvantages. Among the undeniable advantages:

• light weight, allowing it to be moved to any location in the premises or on the site;
• does not require special care: it looks elegant and fresh if you periodically wipe it with a damp cloth or sponge, this simple procedure protects the product from cracking;
• fits perfectly into any interior, adding lightness and sophistication;
• environmentally friendly, does not emit substances harmful to health into the surrounding atmosphere;
• if weaving is done correctly, it is durable and strong;
• full scope for the imagination of home craftsmen;
• will significantly save the family budget;
• the opportunity to acquire skills that will allow you to organize your own small profitable business.

Despite the unconditional advantages of wicker furniture, there are also disadvantages that must be taken into account:

• afraid of high humidity: cannot be left outdoors in bad weather;
• At the same time, the scorching sun will not do any good either: the furniture will dry out, warp, lose its appearance, which will lead to a reduction in its service life.

We decide on the design and construction

Structurally, wicker furniture can be:

• frameless,
• frame.

For a frameless structure, it is enough to use sticks. They act as rigid ribs. The difference between frame products is the presence of a metal base, for which steel rods are used. The weaving is, as it were, "planted" on them. Wooden poles provide stability and rigidity to the wooden structure.

If home craftsmen are taking their first steps in furniture weaving, they should not take on complex products: it will be extremely difficult for an inexperienced craftsman to make them, which will lead to numerous mistakes and disappointments; you need to start with the simplest ones, which will give you the opportunity to master the necessary skills.

Furniture has several types of weaving:

Necessary materials

To make wicker furniture, you will need materials. It is worth noting that they can be different, and many are exotic and unavailable to us: banana leaves, bamboo, water hyacinth, seaweed. But most furniture is made from rattan, willow twigs, bird cherry vines, alder, raspberry, hazel.

IMPORTANT! If you decide to use a vine, the best choice would be willow and bird cherry, which are particularly flexible and plastic. Bird cherry is especially good in this regard.

Preparation of raw materials for work

To make a quality and durable product, you need to properly prepare the raw materials. Most often, these are willow rods.

1. For weaving, you can prepare material that is collected from living trees in the absence of buds, the most suitable time for harvesting is late autumn. You need to have time before the first frosts - such raw materials are easy to clean and store dry.
2. Experts say that you can prepare raw materials in the spring, but you need to remember that you need to cut the rods before the buds begin to swell; if you are late, green leaves will appear on the new furniture.
3. The branches need to be cut at an angle of forty degrees - pruning will not harm the tree, and in a year or two new branches will appear.
4. A kind of flexibility test needs to be carried out. The cut branch needs to be bent: if it does not break, then the raw material is suitable for work. Thin vines used for small-scale binding of products are considered high-quality.
5. Thicker branches are used to make the frame.

Necessary tools

To weave wicker furniture you don't need many tools, but you should have:

• knives and pruners;
• tape measure and measuring tape;
• various templates.

This is the bare minimum; with the help of such a set of tools you can weave simple and small-sized products.

Manufacturing process: technology and nuances in manufacturing

In order not to lose interest in furniture weaving and not to spoil a large amount of material, you should not immediately "swing" at large and rather complex products - a sofa or a table. It is better to start with the simplest "wickers", for example, an armchair. It consists of several elements: a lower bench, a seat, a back, armrests. For work you will need willow sticks up to 30 mm in diameter and thin willow twigs.

ADVICE. When working on the chair, you will need curved parts. To bend the rods, you need to soak them, and when they become soft, remove the unevenness and bend them on the prepared template, let them dry.

The beginning of the work is the manufacture of the frame. If the master makes the first steps in furniture weaving, it is better to use the frame of an old chair made of metal or wood to make the work easier.

ATTENTION! We must not forget about the armrests, which, although made at the request of the master, serve as an additional element of strengthening the entire structure.

The order of making a chair.

1. We make a frame. The frame is made independently from thick strong sticks and a piece of plywood, which is used as a seat. One pair of sticks will act as front legs, it should be shorter than the second by 15-20 cm.
2. The legs are connected with screws, the seat is nailed.
3. The curved elements of the chair back and armrests are also attached to the frame with self-tapping screws.
4. The frame is wrapped with willow strips and can be secured with glue for strength.
5. The frame is braided using single weaving.

If desired, the resulting chair can be treated with stain.

The final stage is decoration

High-quality wicker furniture practically does not need decoration: it is good in itself. If you want to add an element of creativity and "revive" with bright colors, you can use willow ribbons in weaving, including dyed ones, they will organically combine in the ornament of the product. Excellent decorative elements are colored pillows, blankets of various colors.

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