Expert Danish Cord Mid Century Modern Woven Chair Repair

Expert Danish Cord Mid Century Modern Woven Chair Repair, Caning Canada

Glass table converted to Danish Paper Cord woven ottoman

Danish Cord

Danish paper cord is the material used to weave typical seats and backs found in many Danish, Scandinavian, and Mid Century Modern furniture designs. It is a very strong 3-ply fibre / fiber product and the weaving typically incorporates wrapping or rushing style weaving. It gained popularity starting after World War II in Denmark and other European countries. It is generally only seen on high end, quality made furnishings. The basic Danish Cord seats often found on Møller and Wegner seats.

The weaving is one sided and only wraps around a single rung on all sides. From the underside you will see the cord is attached by specialty hook nails.

These Danish cord chairs use staples to attached the cord to the chair frame. There is an extra charge for these chairs to remove the staples and install Danish hook nails where possible.

Double Danish Cord has an extra step in the weaving process where the weaving wraps around two rungs. Photo courtesy of @Louchemilieu

Some mid century modern designs do not use Danish hook nails to attach the Danish cord to the chair.

Rush Pattern Chair Woven with Danish Cord

Some chairs are woven in the rush pattern using Danish cord material. Rushing pattern Danish Cord mimics traditional rushing with the Danish Cord material. Often these chairs have extensive slots that the Danish Cord must be fed through which makes weaving these seats more labour intensive.

Danish chair woven with Danish cord in rush pattern

I was told that this huge and lovely chair filled with charier is called a “Warming Chair” and that it came from a Quebec farmhouse. The chair was used by nursing mothers. Neil is having me replace the seagrass weaving on this chair with a similar gauge of Danish cord in a similar pattern as a Christmas present for his mother in Fairmont, BC

Danish cord chair repair is very time consuming. The variations of Danish weaves are specific to the chair style and dimensions. A properly restored piece is truly beautiful.

Danish Cord Furniture - Care

Some people spray a scotch guard on the Danish cord surfaces to stop stains from absorbing. If something spills on the Danish cord use a damp cloth to clean the spill as soon as possible. Vacuuming once in a while is always a good practice.

How to Clean Danish Paper Cord with Soap Flakes (Try at your own risk as Danish Cord is Paper)

1. Pour boiling water over soap flakes. Make sure all flakes are completely dissolved
2. Allow mixture to cool slightly
3. While water is warm, use a soft cloth to gently wipe the paper cord. Do not get the seat too wet
4. Allow to dry and then repeat if necessary

My Danish cord chair is breaking at the front and back edges can you fix the broken pieces?

The front and back runs of Danish cord tend to be breaking points of this type of furniture after long term use. Once these pieces of material break it is time to replace the full Danish cord surface. Contact Caning Canada to have your Danish cord chair repaired.

Hans J. Wagner 1914 - 2007

The CH23 dining chair is one of the first five chairs Hans Wegner designed for Carl Hansen & Søn in 1950. The elegance of the double rail woven with Danish paper cord.