How to Weave a Camp Stool
Most camp stools are designed to be lightweight and collapsible, so that you can easily carry and store them on a hike. While a camp stool may not be comfortable enough to rest on for hours, it will save you from sitting on wet leaves, mud or uncomfortable sticks and rocks. You can purchase stools from most camping and outdoor sporting goods stores, or make your own for a custom seat.
Things You'll Need
- Sturdy wood lengths, 1 inch square
- 220-grit sandpaper
- Electric drill and screwdriver
- 2 heavy bolts and washers
- 8 wood screws
- Thick fabric material, such as canvas
- Scissors
- Staple gun or hammer and small nails
Instructions
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1
Cut four pieces of 1-inch-square wood to 18 ½ inches long. These will be the legs. Cut four additional pieces of wood: two to 11 inches long, one to 10 ½ inches long and one to 8 ½ inches long.
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2
Drill a hole in the center of each leg. Attach two legs into an X shape by screwing a bolt through both legs and screwing a washer onto the other end. Repeat with the other two legs.
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3
Position the two X shapes so that there are two inner legs and two outer legs. Attach the 8 ½-inch piece of wood to the two inner legs, 2 inches up from the bottom, screwing in from the outside. Attach the 10 ½-inch piece of wood to the two outer legs, 2 inches up from the bottom, screwing in from the outside.
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4
Attach one 11-inch length of wood to the top of the two inner legs, using wood screws. Repeat with the opposite outer legs and the other 11-inch length of wood. The result should look like two rectangles crossing one another in an X.
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5
Sand the entire wood structure down with 220-grit sandpaper, to avoid splinters later on in the stool’s use.
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6
Cut sturdy fabric seat material into 1-inch strips that are all the same length, between 12 and 15 inches depending on the size you’d like the finished seat to be.
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Fasten a fabric strip on the inside of one top bar, at one end, using a staple gun or a hammer and small nails. Run the length of fabric down, out, up and then across the top of the stool to the other bar. Set the legs to the width you'd like for the finished seat, and then run the strip over, down, in and up to fasten on the inside of the bar, under the seat. Repeat with additional fabric strips until you've covered the length of the cross-bars.
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8
Weave strips perpendicular to the attached strips, using an alternating over-under pattern. Place the strips close together, but leave the ends hanging until the entire seat is woven.
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Run the loose fabric ends under the seat and attach to one another using a fabric stapler. Pull each strip taut before securing it, so that the seat is as stable as possible.
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Tips & Warnings
Fold the stool in on itself for transport, and unfold it to sit on it.
Tightly secure all screws and bolts for a sturdy stool.
References
- Photo Credit Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images
