How to Make a Three-Stick Stool
Three-stick stools are commonly seen around campsites, backyards and sporting games where hauling larger seating is impractical. Native to South America, three-stick stools were used by the Spanish settlers who lived in tents and moved around a lot. The seats on traditional three-stick stools were made from leather, but modern stools are frequently made from heavy fabric such as denim or canvas. Once you have cut the fabric for the seat portion you can decorate it to suit your tastes, whether it be a fun design or sports team logo, you can personalize the seat however you want.
Things You'll Need
- Three sturdy sticks, about 3 feet long each
- 3 feet of rope
- 18 x 20 inch piece of denim
- Chalk
- Yardstick
- Scissors
- Markers or fabric paint
- Pins
- Sewing machine with thread
Instructions
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1
Hold the three sticks together and wind the rope loosely around the sticks several times, between one-half to two-thirds the way up the sticks. Tie a double knot.
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2
Stand the sticks upright and spread them out so it is shaped like a teepee, and it stands on it's own. Gently try to sit on the sticks, you should find that even without the cloth seat you can sit on the sticks. Set aside.
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3
Place the denim right-side-down, so that the 20 inch side is parallel to your body. Fold the fabric in half, to your left, and mark the top of the center top of the fabric with the chalk.
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4
Mark a triangle on the fabric, by connecting the center point mark you made in step 3 with the bottom left corner and bottom right corner. Mark the triangle shape with the chalk and yardstick. Cut the large triangle out and set aside.
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5
Mark and measure three more small triangles on the remnant fabric, with two of the sides measuring 5 inches long and the bottom side measuring 4 ½ inches long. The smaller triangles become the pockets for the sticks to tuck into. Cut the smaller triangles out and set aside.
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6
Decorate the "right side" of the large fabric triangle (from step 4) with markers or fabric paint. Design the seat with traditional symbols and artwork, similar to what you might see in Native American-type art or a horse saddle, or personalize the seat suit your own tastes. Fabric paint applied directly from a tube will yield a texturized appearance and look more authentic. Fine-tip markers work better for more intricate designs. Set the decorated seat aside to dry thoroughly.
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7
Pin the three small triangles into the corners of the large triangle, with the large fabric triangle facing right-side up.
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8
Sew the two outside edges of the smaller triangles onto the large triangle. Leave the inside edges un-sewn to form a pocket.
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9
Flip the little pockets inside out, so the pocket is reversed, and slip the stick ends into the pockets.
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10
Spread the legs out on your seat and test it out. It's normal for the chair to settle a little bit, but if the chair legs are spread too far apart and the chair is too low to the ground, move the rope and the knot lower down on the legs, and retie the knot
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Tips & Warnings
Three wooden baseball bats work well for the legs of this project, since the bats are about the correct size and are very strong. Place the handles of the bats inside the pockets and the tips of the bats to the ground.
Consider lightly marking your desired design with chalk or on a similarly sized piece of paper before marking the denim permanently.
References
- Photo Credit artiste-peintre sur le motif image by dead_account from Fotolia.com
