Multistable Leno Woven Textiles

This paper presents the development of a set of multistable textiles, emerging from a design exploration into leno weaving techniques. In this structure, two warps cross around a weft yarn, creating an open, yet strong textile. We propose that leno weaving offers unique affordances for creating lightweight textiles with multistable adaptive properties. Our work contributes to a growing discourse on intelligent materials, particularly those that embed interaction potential into their structure and behavior, rather than relying on electronics. The multistable textiles presented in this paper are particularly promising for interactive and wearable applications, where users can actively engage with and adjust the properties of the textile, such as support, flexibility, or breathability, through reversible mechanical state changes. In addition to technical contributions, we reflect on the design considerations and challenges of working with traditional textile craft techniques, highlighting the sustainable and creative potential that emerges from revisiting these practices through a design research lens.