It was somewhere outside Barstow when "Gene T"
wrote:

that looks a lot like strips of brown grocery paper twisted together. Is
anyone familiar with this type of material?

Yes, it's very common.

Your seat sounds like a rush seat (NB - not "cane"). The best rushes
to do this are still grown (mine come from Holland) but they're
surprisingly expensive and they also only grow in short lengths. So
working a rush seat is as much about continually working new rushes
into the cord as it is about twisting this cord onto the chair frame.

So to solve both problems, much rush chair work is done with this
paper rush. It comes on long reels of a constant size, so it's far
easier to work with than real rush. Another option is "seagrass". This
is hard wearing (also used for flooring) and easier to work with than
rush, but a "natural" product unlike the paper cord.

http://www.jamiltonupholstery.co.uk/...ct.asp?dept=37

You need to find a supplier of chair caning materials and a simple
book on the technique. I can't really suggest one for Hawaii or the
USA though (I'm in the UK). You might find it through a wholesale
upholstery supplier, but probably not - the cane and rush trade seems
quite distinct from the stuffed fabric trade. I get mine from "The
Cane Workshop" in Somerset

It's not hard to do, and doesn't even take that long. Tools are pretty
simple too, although a good bench vice to hold the chair while you
work on it will do wonders for your back - otherwise rig up a low
platform (couple of stacked pallets) and stand the chair on that.
Don't bend over the chair at floor height.