Repair of a Classic Chair

One of our Knoll 1601 stacking chairs by Don Albinson (1964) developed a crack in the polypropylene back. Almost nothing sticks to polypropylene, and I knew that attempting to weld it would almost certainly look horrible. So I decided to make a repair embellishment rather than try to fix it invisibly.

Step 1: ​Plan the Repair.

I wanted to use leather laces to stitch the back together again. So I went to my leather lace bag and picked a few different types that I guessed were long enough. Then I laid them on the chair to get an idea how they would look.

Step 2: ​Lay Out the Spacing.

The break measured 270mm long which made me think to divide by nine and get an even 30mm spacing. I used white tape to mark this out. 12mm on each side of the crack felt like the right distance for the holes.

Step 3: ​Make the Holes.

I used an awl to dimple the marks for drilling. This keeps the drill bit from wandering off the marks. The leather I decided to use fit nicely through a 5/32” hole. I started with a smaller bit and then enlarged to 5/32”. This makes any inaccuracy smaller.

Step 4: Lace It Up.

I guessed that the top would take the most stress so I started there. That way the knot would be at the bottom where there would be less stress. I pulled even amounts of the lace through the top two holes and then made the first X. Then I crossed the laces on the back side and came out the next pair of holes. Continued to the bottom. Finished with a snug square knot.

Step 5: And Done.

The ends are left long to complete the statement that repairs done well have nothing to hide.