Last updated: August 20, 2026
What is wicker made of has a slightly annoying answer, because wicker is not a material at all. It is a way of building things: flexible strands woven over and around a frame. The fiber doing the weaving can be a palm, a grass, a tree shoot, twisted paper or a plastic extrusion.
This guide names every fiber you are likely to meet, explains how each one behaves once it is in your house, and gives you a few ways to work out what an unlabeled piece is made of before you buy it or start restoring it.
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Quick Answer
What is wicker made of?
- Wicker is a weave, not a material, so the honest answer is that it is made of whatever pliable strand the maker chose.
- The plant fibers are rattan reed, rattan cane, willow, bamboo splits, seagrass, water hyacinth and abaca rope.
- The manufactured fibers are twisted kraft paper wrapped around wire, and synthetic resin strand in polyethylene or vinyl.
- Underneath the weave there is nearly always a frame, usually rattan pole, hardwood, steel or aluminum, and that frame decides how long the piece survives.
- Only synthetic resin over aluminum is genuinely built for uncovered outdoor use.
Wicker Is a Technique, Not a Substance
The word describes the making rather than the stuff. Strands are bent, wrapped and interlaced around uprights until they hold a shape, which is the same principle behind a basket, a fish trap and a porch rocker. Any fiber that bends without snapping can be used.
That is why you cannot answer a question about durability, cleaning or weather resistance from the word wicker alone. Two chairs described with the same word can be built from a tropical palm and from extruded plastic, and they need completely different care.
The Plant Fibers
Most natural wicker is rattan, a climbing palm from Southeast Asia with a solid stem. That stem yields two weaving materials: the glossy outer skin, peeled into strips and sold as cane, and the pale inner core, milled into round or flat strands and sold as reed. Reed is what classic wicker furniture is woven from.
Willow, Grasses and Bamboo
Willow came first in Europe and North America, cut as year old rods and worked green. It is still the basketry standard, and antique porch furniture from before the rattan trade often turns out to be willow under the paint. It weaves thinner and looks more rustic than reed.
Seagrass, water hyacinth and abaca are grasses and stems that get dried and twisted into a rope before weaving, which gives them their thick braided look and their gray green tone. Bamboo, being hollow, mostly turns up as frames or as flat splits rather than as the weave itself.
The Manufactured Fibers
Two fibers in wide use never grew as a strand. Paper rope, developed for the Lloyd Loom process in the early twentieth century, is kraft paper twisted tightly around a wire core and woven by machine, which gives a very even surface that takes paint better than any natural fiber.
The other is synthetic resin, extruded into strands and woven over a metal frame. High density polyethylene is the good version, colored all the way through and stabilized against ultraviolet light. Vinyl resin is the cheaper one, and it stiffens and cracks under sun and cold much sooner.
Every Fiber at a Glance
The table below covers the fibers that account for nearly all wicker furniture on sale. The last column is the one to read first, because it is the difference between a piece that lives happily in a sunroom and one that gives up after a wet autumn outdoors.
| Fiber | What it is | Look and feel | Suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rattan reed | Inner core of a rattan stem | Matte, pale, slightly fibrous, takes stain readily | Indoor and covered porch furniture |
| Cane | Peeled outer skin of the rattan stem | Hard and glossy, resists stain, woven open | Seat and back panels, cabinet doors |
| Willow | Young shoots of the willow tree | Thin rods with tapered ends, rustic surface | Baskets and light indoor seating |
| Seagrass and water hyacinth | Dried grasses twisted into rope | Thick braided strands, gray green cast | Indoor furniture in dry rooms |
| Paper rope | Kraft paper twisted around wire | Very even, smooth, holds paint well | Painted indoor pieces, Lloyd Loom style |
| Resin strand | Extruded polyethylene or vinyl | Uniform, no grain, repeating pattern | Outdoor furniture over a metal frame |
Notice that only one row belongs outdoors. Everything else is an indoor material, whatever the setting in the product photograph.
The Frame Matters as Much as the Weave
Under nearly every woven piece there is a skeleton, and it fails before the weave does more often than people expect. Natural furniture is framed in rattan pole or hardwood. Synthetic furniture is framed in steel or aluminum, and the choice between those two is the single biggest quality signal on an outdoor set.
Aluminum does not rust, so a damp cushion pressed against it for a week costs you nothing. Steel is stronger and cheaper, but any scratch through the coating starts a rust bloom that eventually stains the weave. If you are shopping for a patio, our guide to wicker patio furniture worth buying works through frames alongside sets.
What outdoor construction looks like
A polyethylene weave over a powder coated aluminum frame is the combination to search for when the furniture will not be brought inside.
How to Identify an Unlabeled Piece
Start with weight and sound. Natural fiber is light and slightly irregular, and tapping it gives a dull note. Resin is heavier in the hand for its size, perfectly regular, and taps with a plasticky click. Then look at the cut ends, where the material gives itself away.
The Details That Confirm It
Cut ends of reed and willow show fibers. A resin strand shows a clean molded cross section, often with a hollow center. Cane is recognizable by its shine and by the fact that stain sits on top of it rather than soaking in, which is why refinishers so often struggle with caned panels.
One more check. Natural fiber darkens where hands have touched it for years, so a piece with even color everywhere and sharp uniform crossings is almost certainly machine woven synthetic or paper rope, not a hand woven antique.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is wicker a type of wood? No. Wicker is a weaving method, and the strands used for it can be palm, grass, tree shoots, paper or plastic. Some of those come from plants that are woody, but the word itself refers to the technique.
What is most wicker furniture made of today? Outdoor furniture is mostly synthetic resin strand over a metal frame. Indoor furniture is mostly rattan reed and cane, with seagrass and water hyacinth common on more casual pieces.
Is wicker the same as rattan? No. Rattan is one material you can weave into wicker. Wicker made from willow, seagrass or resin contains no rattan at all, which is why the two words are not interchangeable.
What is synthetic wicker made of? Usually high density polyethylene, extruded into a flat or round strand and stabilized against sunlight. Cheaper sets use vinyl resin instead, which becomes brittle sooner in strong sun and hard frost.
Can you tell natural from synthetic wicker in a photograph? Often yes. Natural weave varies in tone from strand to strand and the crossings are slightly uneven, while synthetic weave repeats exactly and the color is uniform across the whole piece.
Which wicker material is easiest to clean? Resin, because it can be rinsed and wiped without absorbing water. Natural fibers should only be damp cleaned and dried quickly, since soaking loosens the weave and invites mildew.
The Bottom Line
Wicker tells you how a piece was made, never what it is made from. Find the fiber first: reed, cane, willow, seagrass, paper rope or resin. Then find the frame, because rattan pole and hardwood mean indoors while aluminum means the piece can stay in the weather. Those two answers settle durability, cleaning and price band in one go.
Check the frame before the weave