My husband trash picked an oak rocking chair but the seat was garbage. I salvaged the Shaker seat tape and upholstery nails from another broken chair.
Cost: $3.49 for foam padding
Time: 2 hours
What was left of the original seat.
The broken chair after removing the seat tape.
Ready to start.
Off we go! The tape had some faded spots. Whatever. It was free. We’ll call it CHARACTER.
The top is over-under, over-under.
The underside is basketweave.
Great save! Such a charming little rocker now!
This is great! I have 2 grass seat rockers in my garage waiting to be somehow fixed this summer. I am planning to go away from the grass/natural items because the animals tore it up for nests and smart betters would believe it will happen again.
Your project is so pretty and motivating!
It was much easier than I expected. The hardest part was hammering the tiny nails through the tape and into the wood.
Great project. I’d just call the fading a tonal effect like in nice, fancy yarn. 
what a gorgeous new addition to your house!
Gorgeous save!!
Beautiful work and a great save! 
Wonderful upcycle! It always feels so satisfying to bring an old thing back to life and a useful purpose.
Great save and the faded spots add authenticity.
Whoa! This is so great!
Fantastic! What a great project!
Great job. I just bookmarked this because I have a salvaged chair waiting for me to fix it and this may be the solution.
@Cindy
The tape I used is 1" wide, and I used small upholstery tacks. I bought 1" thick foam and cut it to fit inside the seat.
Here’s one source for the tape.
The amount of tape needed is calculated like this: Shaker Tape Yardage Calculator
HOWEVER. This method ignores the wrap-around so I would actually measure the OUTSIDE of the seat rails instead of the inside, and then do the calculation.
The tacks: https://www.joann.com/upholstery-steel-tacks-3-8in-number-3-15-ounces-black/8626855.html
Here’s the instructional video.
Thanks!
I love that you saved this old chair. And the faded spots on the tape make this project look BETTER than it would have otherwise.
