How to Make Shaker Furniture

The Shaker style features simple, well made furniture. The Shakers (a religious group) make most of their furniture themselves, and you can learn how to make Shaker style furniture with practice. Although the designs are simple, skill is needed to produce the same quality. This guide will show you how to make a Shaker style footstool.

Things You'll Need

• One 6 foot pine board measuring 2 inches by 2 inches
• Four pieces of wood doweling, each 3 feet long and 7/8 inch in diameter
• Wood glue
• Upholstery tacks
• Clamps
• Hammer
• Drill
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Paintbrushes
• Two different colors of belt cording (a fabric trim)

Instructions

Prepare the Stool Frame

1. Cut the pine board into four 12 1/2 inch sections. These will be the legs.

2. Cut the wood doweling into eight 13 1/2 inch sections. These will be the rungs.

3. Measure down 1 inch from the top of each leg and draw a line there.

4. Measure down 7 inches from the top of each leg and mark it with a line.

5. Draw a line squarely across the center of these lines. This will give you a pinpoint placement to attach the rungs.

6. Place all of the legs together with the pencil marks facing you.

7. Turn one leg over, and mark the newly exposed side with a rung mark matching that of the other legs.

8. Mark the remaining legs in the same way.

Assemble the Frame

1. Drill 7/8 inch diameter holes 1 inch deep on each rung mark.

2. Place wood glue in the newly drilled holes.

3. Insert the wooden doweling pieces and wipe off excess glue.

4. Stand the frame up to ensure the frame is level.

5. Clamp the legs to the rungs.

6. Allow glue to dry.

Weave the Seat Cover

1. Attach a piece of belt cording to the underside of the top dowel with a tack.

2. Stretch the cording across the seat and under the opposite dowel.

3. Continue winding the cording back and forth, over and under until the seat is covered. Cut the cording and tack the end down.

4. Repeat this process with the other colored cording.

5. Begin weaving this cording on the dowel you did not wrap previously.

6. Weave the cording in a basket-weave fashion in and out of the existing cording.

7. Continue until the entire seat is covered.

8. Pull taut and tack down the end of cording under the dowel.

Tips & Warnings

• Lumberyards and hardware stores will often cut your wood to size for you.

Resources

• Allwoodwork.com for links to free furniture designs and plans