Seat. The mat is ready. Bend a ten-inch length of No. 4 reed into a 2-1/4-inch square. Set this around the mat, bend the spokes over it and fasten as you did those of the back. Again take three ten-inch lengths of No. 4 reed and bend so:
Place these around three sides of the prepared seat and fasten them by wrapping them over and over with raffia, and the front and two sides of the chair are formed. Adjust the back to the fourth side of the seat; fasten it by wrapping it closely with raffia. Next bend to a form near the size of the seat a piece of No. 4 reed. Place this around the legs, to form a brace, about one inch below the seat in front and about three-fourths of an inch below in the back. Let the joining point of the reed come at the back. With a piece of raffia fasten this to one leg, then wrap the raffia over and over along the brace until the next leg is reached, secure it and pass on to the third, then to the fourth, when the entire brace will be wrapped with raffia and the four legs held in place.
BACK OF CHAIR No. II
Where the back is attached to the seat, you will have four No. 4 reeds coming together to form the back legs. This would make them too thick and clumsy and they would not be symmetrical with the front ones. To prevent this, clip two of the reeds between the seat and the brace on the legs. Cut out the ends of the one of the back first worked in, and the ends of the one forming the back brace. There is left the outer fifteen-inch spoke you put on and the one which came around from the side of the seat. These two form the back leg on each side. Wrap closely with raffia the intervening spaces between the seat and the brace so as to leave no unsightly ends.
In bending the reed to fashion the legs it is impossible to have it all the same length; adjust this by letting the unevenness come out at the foot of the leg and when the chair is finished measure and cut off the legs to the same length.