Aiken woman master, teacher of restorative craft of chair caning

Mary Whitt of Aiken practices a dying art to restore antique and vintage furniture to its original condition.

Whitt has been doing chair caning for 45 years, weaving strands of rattan cane into intricate lattices in frames on the backs and seats of chairs.

She also does sheet caning, where a prewoven sheet of cane is cut and fit into the space, then sealed with a groove piece, but she said caning by hand is her first love.

"I first learned chair caning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. When we got married, John and I, we started collecting antiques; we didn't buy anything new. Back in those days you could find things in people's garages," Whitt said. "John refinishes furniture; he redid everything in our house. My first piece I recaned was a rocking chair. Its arms were broken, so he reglued the arms and refinished it, and I did the cane back and seat. We've still got that chair."

In hand caning, Whitt strands lengths of rattan cane through holes drilled around the edge of the frame, weaving them to create an octagon pattern. She has taught classes in chair caning over the years, though never in Aiken, and does projects for friends and friends-of-friends who find her by word of mouth. Whitt said if she could find four or five potential students with projects in hand, she would be willing to organize a local hands-on class.

"When I do sheet caning, there's not very much work done by hand. The hand caning is the art; that's where I get my satisfaction," she said. "I do pieces for anyone who wants one done; I've met people who upholstered over a broken seat and said, 'I wish I'd known you were here.' It's not that it's hard to do, but it takes time and patience. I'm always looking for people with projects for me, because I love doing it. For me, it's my fun."

Those interested in learning to do chair caning or with a caning project can contact Whitt at 648-2918.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.