I have been working on a Morris Bow Arm chair for over six months now, and need to decide on a way to support the seat cushion. I know some of the books with Morris chair projects just put the cushion on a piece of plywood. I would like something a little more elegant. What are some other options ? What are the difficulties with installation ? Where can I find supplies ? I will have an upholstorer make leather cushions for the chair.
Thanks for any suggestions,
DAVE
Replies
Hi Dave,
I had the same issues when I made my Morris chair - I just didn't like the idea of plywood after all the work I had put in on the rest of the chair. I ended up making a lap-jointed frame of oak. I then cut a piece of stiff upholstery foam to just fit inside the frame, and held it in place by weaving Shaker Tape around the frame. It came out really nice - if you pull the Shaker Tape fairly tight as you weave, you end up with a firm seat bottom that makes a good support for the cushion, and it has more 'give' than a piece of plywood. In comparing the woven seat support with a plywood mock-up, I found the woven support to be more comfortable, so for me, it was worth the extra effort. It was also a great excuse for me to buy another book - The Caners Handbook, by Miller and Widess - a great book that covers a variety of ways of making and fixing chair seats.
Hope this helps
Loach
Dave,
I made two morris chairs, slant arm, about 8 years age, my first real piece of furniture. My cushions are loose. I used 1/2" X 1-1/2" slats spaced about 1/2" apart screwed to a 3/4 " piece front and back. I only made two chairs and at the time there were 4 people in the family. Now with a son-in-law it's even harder to get one of them to sit on.
ASK
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