A stem of oat straw laid flat, its seed head splaying into papery husks with two cut lengths of hollow stalk crossing beneath.

Oat straw is bundled and sewn in a coiling technique on chair backs in Orkney and Fair Isle in Scotland. These distinctive chairs are rather rare but worth mentioning.

Composition

Marram grass and docken stalks (dock)

Handling Notes

  • Harvested and dried, then bundled into a ring for uniform diameter, the ends are tacked down to a wooden seat (occasionally with a rush bottom and often with a drawer at the legs) then sewn with sisal string
  • Not great for outdoor seating

Applications in Craft

Keywords

Provenance

Silver River Chairs, Weaverville, North Carolina. Acquired 2026.

In Use

Have you used this material?

Please contact Mellanee Goodman, Program Director, Curator, and Materials Specialist, to start a conversation about submitting your work for inclusion on this site.

mgoodman@centerforcraft.org