a rustic chair

I cut down some willow earlier in the year and wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

Then I broke one of our patio chairs and had to find a replacement.

With a knife and a saw I cut the thickest willow to make the legs, back and main frame.

 I drilled holes and shaped the branches into a tenon to fit.

for the seat, I attached several thinnish branches across and wove green willow through them to make a solid, comfortable seat.

The back was made from a couple of leftover branches and if I'm honest, isn't very comfortable!

While the chair worked fine with mortise and tenon joints and some wood glue, I reinforced it all over with nails I recovered when stripping pallets.  Now the frame is strong , but slightly flexible due to the material used.

I experimented with stripping bits of bark off to see what would happen as it aged.  Over time the chair has changed colour to a lovely rustic red-brown that looks even better than when it was new.  This was my first substantial project working with green wood (unseasoned wood) and it's interesting to watch how it changes in colour and texture over time. I'll continue to watch and learn as the wood dries out completely in the coming year.     This wasn't a difficult project, and I used very few tools.  Just a saw, a knife and a drill.  The measurements were mostly just holding branches up against another chair or my own body and marking the length with a pencil before cutting.  The cross branches on the seat weren't strong enough so I split some heavier willow branches and nailed them underneath for extra support.