check these out: crocheted lawn chairs!
I recently inherited a bunch of fabulous stuff from a friend’s mother who was moving out of her home. Pyrex bowls, clothes, and sewing patterns, yes, but the greatest find were these two crocheted lawn chairs. I have never in my life seen anything like them — it’s nylon yarn woven over an aluminum frame — which is why I grabbed them. When I got them home, I was even more delighted to realize that the chairs don’t have just an abstract pattern, but are representations of a squirrel and deer. They are the perfect summer chairs! Has anyone out there seen anything like these? Were they homemade? I just may have to learn how it’s done so I can make myself some more! –Megan B.
Update: See kourtney’s link in comments — looks like they’re macrame!
July 7th, 2009 at 7:02 am
That style of chair most commonly had wide nylon webbing woven seats and backs, which eventually wore out. Years ago you could get the same wide webbing to repair the chairs, but this pair someone obviously did something more creative with.
The seat and back patterns look woven, rather than crocheted. I vaguely remember seeing this kind of project in some DIY magazines at least 30 years ago, but I surely cannot remember which one… It would probably not be too difficult to do something similar.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:09 am
ooh, my grandparents have a few of these that have a trailer and read, “home is where we park it.” I’m guessing they got them somewhere in the retirement community where they spend the winters in Texas
Here’s what came up in google: http://www.carolsrugs.com/macrame_lawn_chair_patterns.htm
July 7th, 2009 at 11:27 am
kourtney, your mission is to steal me those lawn chairs from your grandparents.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:58 am
My grandparents had several pairs of these chairs that they had macrame’d (sp?) Wish I had them now!
July 7th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Can I just say that our readers are the best?! Thanks for all of the helpful information! Now I need to macrame myself some more. Macrame. I like that word a lot.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
This store has macrame patterns for lawn chairs:
http://www.macramesuperstore.com/Default.aspx
BTW- I think the patterns on your chairs are actually “Moose and Squirrel” from the 60’s Rocky and Bullwinkle animation show.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:36 am
I would Mary but my grandpa is seriously the cutest little old dude that ever was so I couldn’t bear to steal his chair.
I think life would be complete if I had one of those with a squirrel…
July 8th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Here in Chicago, we see these at tailgates with Bears or White Sox designs in team colors. Very enjoyable!
July 8th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Actually, Annika, thanks to your link, I found the pattern for the squirrel and fawn chairs I have.
http://www.macramesuperstore.com/craft-cord/Terlyn-Macrame-Chair-Pattern__TL05.aspx
I am learning to macrame now. For serious.
July 13th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I have a friend who used to make those chairs. They were macrame. She made a pair for me and wove our last name into them. I still have them, but one of the frames is broken. The macrame is still intact, thought.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I had a book back in the 80’s with several patterns for these chairs. I made a few but have since lost the books. I was searching for some when I came across this site. The patterns were woven using a large crochet hook and macrame cord. Hopefully I’ll find somewhere to purchase some books or patterns.