How to Tie Seat Springs

Cut pieces of twine four times the length between one side of the chair to the other, using scissors. You'll string from several angles, including straight across and at a diagonal from one side to the other, so cut pieces of twine to fit each. For a nine-spring seat, for example, you'll use 16 pieces of twine.

Start in one corner. Tie a knot in the end of a piece of twine and nail the knot to one corner of the chair frame.

Press the first spring down to its desired height. The farther down a spring is pressed, the firmer the seat.

Tie a clove hitch knot on the near side of the first spring you encounter. To tie a clove hitch, loop the twine around the spring from front to back. Cross the back twine across the front piece and thread it under the top wire on the spring and up through the inside of the spring. This creates a sideways figure "8." Slip the end through space underneath the center of sideways figure "8." Pull it tight.

Tie another clove hitch knot at the far top edge of the spring.

Continue diagonally across the seat, pressing the springs down and tying two knots -- one on either top edge of each spring -- until you reach the other corner of the seat. Tie a knot in the twine and nail that knot to the seat frame.

Make another set of diagonal knots from a third corner to the fourth corner of the seat.

Repeat this process vertically across the seat from one end to the other, nailing down the ends of the twine and tying two knots on each spring. For a nine-spring seat, you'll create three vertical rows of knots.

Tie knots across the springs horizontally in the same fashion. For the nine-spring seat, you will have three horizontal rows as well.

Finish the diagonal rows of knots, starting from one side of the first diagonal row and moving over one nail from the other. Each diagonal will get progressively smaller as you move away from the original row.

Repeat the diagonal process with the second diagonal row you created.