Oval Vinyl Lacing Cord for Mid-Century Patio Chairs, White, 25 ft

Many mid-century wrought iron and aluminum patio chairs were not strapped but laced. The seat and back are wrapped with vinyl cord that runs around the frame row after row. When that cord cracks, goes brittle or snaps, the chair can be re-laced. This is white vinyl lacing cord with an oval cross section, in 25 ft coils.

Vinyl is stiff when cool, so it is softened in hot water first. It stretches while warm and pulls tighter as it cools, and that is what makes a laced seat firm.

Before you cut anything:

• Photograph the old lacing from the top and the underside, close up at the corners.
• Count the wraps on the seat and on the back.
• Look at how the ends were fastened under the frame, and keep that hardware if it can be reused.

To re-lace:

• Soak a coil in hot water until it bends easily. Wear gloves to handle it.
• Fasten the starting end under the frame.
• Copy the old pattern wrap by wrap, pulling each one tight and keeping the oval lying flat the same way every time.
• When a coil runs out, fasten its end under the frame and start the next coil there, so the joins stay out of sight.
• Fasten the last end under the frame.

Work in short sections and put the cord back in the hot water when it stiffens.

One chair usually needs several coils, so count the wraps and work out the length before you order. That way you can finish the whole seat in one session.

First check that your chair is laced, not strapped. A laced chair is wrapped with a narrow cord that goes round and round the frame. A strapped chair has wide flat straps riveted at each end, and needs vinyl strap instead.

Then estimate the length. Count the wraps on the seat and the back. Measure one wrap with a piece of string, all the way around the frame, and multiply by the number of wraps. Add a little for fastening the ends, divide by 25 ft and round up to get the number of coils. If the seat and back wraps are different lengths, work them out separately. Example: 50 wraps of 34 in each come to 1,700 in, about 142 ft, so six coils.