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Continuing from the Gustav Stickley Ladderback Chair Finish post,
(Or to begin at the beginning go here.)

The frame is repaired and the finish conserved; Buildup begins!

Stickley chairs do not have dustcovers, and so the underside of the canvas seatdeck is visible if the chair is turned over.  We wanted the new to have the look of an older chair, and so we tea-stained the 14oz. cotton canvas prior to installing onto the chair frame.

Choosing a jute webbing to match an older chair is difficult because many older jute webbings are not made, or are not available even from Europe via web searches.  In this case, Mitchell chose a French jute webbing that was closer to the weight and weave structure, even though it did not have the stripe running up the side, which many other contemporary jute webbings have — though it was a close choice between the one to the far left, which was a bit too wide.

The webbing was applied exactly as the original jute webbing.  Mitchell can feel the slight bump of the tack hole picks and so placed the tacks back into the same holes.

The original woolen lint batting was cleaned and reused.

The batting was recarded onto the seat.

A thin topper of 100% cotton was applied.
Stickley chairs sat quite flat, similar to Empire style seating; Mitchell was careful
not to add too much, and formed it to a modest crown on top of the seat.

The 400 count cotton percale muslin seat cover was carefully placed.  In this instance Mitchell did not use the original tack holes as the original Stickley upholsterers used a tack pattern that was haphazard and would result in the percale tearing earlier than necessary.

Next Coloring and applying the Show Cover leather!

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