One of the features that makes our custom furniture stand out is our striking and colourful weaving material.
Keeping true to our African-contemporary style, many of our furniture items display striking weave patterns that have their roots in the Zulu weaving tradition.
Carried out by the talented ladies at our Lidgetton factory, who spend a great deal of time carefully threading the weaving material over and under seating or backrests, in our signature patterns, our weaved furniture is made with meticulous attention to detail.
With many colours, thicknesses and patterns to personalise your Homewood furniture with, we thought we’d break down the various options available to help you make your decision.
What is Our Weaving Material Made of?
Our weaving material is made from polyester rope. This material was chosen over leather, which typically fades, dries out, cracks and stretches over time, causing it to require more maintenance.
Polyester Rope Benefits:
- Doesn’t stretch or lose its shape
- Can bear very heavy weights
- Is abrasion resistant, making it hard to damage and leave unsightly marks
- Is UV resistant, which means its colour won’t fade with outdoor exposure
- Is easy to clean
Homewood Rope Colours:
- Black
- Grey
- Military Green
- Beige
- Golden Yellow
- Yellow
- Red
- Royal Blue
- Ocean Blue
- Green
- Lumo Green
- Lumo Orange
- White
Available Rope Thickness:
- 8mm
- 5mm
- 2.5mm
Weave Patterns:
Our weaving originated as an alternative to upholstery (read our blog on Hertex fabric options for more on this topic). Instead of layering your furniture in fabric and foam, we decided to weave it to give it a more distinctive look and to be more comfortable, durable for outdoors and easier to clean. Take a look at some of our unique patterns.
Cotswold Weave
This weave pattern is characterised by a shoelace type threading on the sides of the seat, as well as rope wrapped around the front and back surface. This weave uses a thin 5mm rope, which gives pieces with this pattern a beautifully refined look.
Wrap Weave
This weave pattern can be recognised by rope that’s wrapped around all sides of the frame surface. We use 5mm or 8mm rope to create this stunning weave.
Imbiza Weave
This special weave technique was developed exclusively for our Imbiza range. It can be described as a full shoelace cut out, wherein rope is laced throughout the entire woven item, covering the seat and backrest as a single section.
Danish Weave
The art of traditional Danish weaving typically incorporates wrapping, rushing style weaving, and basket weave patterns. It gained popularity starting after World War II in Denmark and other European countries. It is generally only seen on high-end, quality made furnishings.
The weaving is one sided and only wraps around a single rung on all sides. From the underside you will see the cord is attached by specialty hook nails.
Typically a very strong 3-ply fiber product was used, however, we have opted for the 2.5mm polyester rope due to strength and durability.
Unravelling A Rich Cultural Heritage
Once at risk of dying out, in an era where traditional Zulu practices were questioned by Western missionaries, Zulu weaving has thankfully become a prized and celebrated skill that has been adapted and adopted by many, including ourselves at Homewood.
Did you know that some Zulu children learn to weave as early as 5 years old and that different weaving patterns can mean different things? Small squares, for example, are a celebration of fruitfulness (good crops, rains or a new child).
The practice of weaving is deeply embedded into this vibrant and artistic culture and we’re proud to be able to showcase this craft!
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