Bead Leno
Leno Weave is the general term applied to a weave structure in which some of the warp threads do not lie parallel with, but are twisted partly around other threads. It is also know as gauze weave. In the process of weaving a leno fabric, the warp threads are pulled out of their normal straight line in the cloth. They are pulled off the either the right or left of the warp thread next to them and held in that position by the weft thread.
The method of interlacing results in several features peculiar to leno weaves. Leno weaves have an open work effect since the threads to not lie parallel to each other in the fabric. A leno or gauze fabric will have an open or lace-like appearance, be light in weight and yet posses sufficient strength to wear well. Leno fabrics have a zigzag effect, due to the twisting of the ends. This effect is more noticeable in fancy gauze weaves that in plain gauze.
The true leno weaves woven in the past do not have the double threads working together as shown here. Special equipment was used to twist the threads in the weaving process. Creative weavers had discovered a way to weave leno like fabrics without the special equipment. The picture above shows ‘bead leno’. To weave ‘bead leno” you slip a bead (or a piece of a straw works well) over the correct threads as you are setting up the warp on the loom. Later as you weave, the bead pulls one of the threads over neighboring threads so it works with the other thread in the bead. You do not get a true plain weave fabric when weaving bead leno. Instead the ‘plain’ areas are more like a basket weave.
It takes four harness to weave bead leno. With a 8 harness loom you can mix areas of leno with areas of basket weave to create patterns and more interesting cloth as shown above.
When I weave my leno scarves I like to have some variety. The first group of three scarves were all a bit different. One had the long blocks as show in my example picture. For the next one I shorten the blocks and ended up with more of a textured looking fabric than the visible block design. For the last scarf, I wove it all as leno (shown below). It was fun trying to convince people it was actually woven on a loom, and not crocheted.
For weavers interested in exploring bead leno, see the article “A New Twist on Bead Leno” by Kathryn Wertenberger. It can be found in the Nov/Dec 1989 Handwoven magazine. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to set up the warp and weave this interesting fabric.
