I’ve been testing some felted pressure sensors for an eTextile projects that will go the Denver Art Museum for a temporary show the end of April. smiles!

On our last day we sprinted to the finish line completing our projects, setting up the final display wall and cleaning up the library. LED Hat by ____________________   Paper Corset with LEDs by _____   Hisham completed his handweaving with conductive thread and 10mm LEDs.   ______ lent her talented hands for the detail work.   The Ladies created […]

By Day 4 we were all in the creative spirit with our own projects, sharing our new techniques with each other and teaching the interested bystander on how to use conductive thread to make a basic LED circuit.  See one. Do one. Teach one. The M2’s made a glowing pillow!   While Hisham worked on needle felting and integrating Maxbotix’s […]

By Day 3 the eTextile and paper computing participants were well on their way to creating their own projects.  In the morning I introduced the entire group to the ATtiny45 micro-controllers as a ways to activate the LEDs to blink and fade.  While some chose to stick with basic LED circuits with textile or paper embellishments at least half the group […]

On Day 2 the challenge began with making a circuit using 5 LEDs. Participants quickly learned that multiple colors of LEDs compete for power.  Red LEDs dominate all other colors, but occasionally other colors can work together.  To be on the safe side, they began making multiple circuits to separate the colors. Hand sewn and embroidered multi-colored Star overlays by […]

The first day we were together in the library space at Mathaf we created basic LED circuits using Bare Conductive Paint, copper tape and conductive thread. Basic LED Circuit   Thru this simple exercise everyone learned that copper tape is a fast, easy and forgiving electrical conduit. That conductive paint is fun and organic but takes time to dry before […]

Years ago I purchased a cone of 234/34 4 ply conductive thread with a resistance of 15 ohms/foot. As you can see in the photo – Sheildex labels it as 235/34. They explained that this number change is because the thread is wound on a one pound cone. It is great thread that I have used for teaching as well […]

conductive thread with 9.5 Ω/ft resistance size 24 chenille needle from John James 1.8 mm red LED 20mm coin cell battery holder CR 2032 3V coin cell battery

Charged electrons flow from the power source along the negative trace (green) thru a resistor to the cathode. Like excited lemmings they jump the P-N junction emitting light. Finally, the spent electrons slide along the positive trace (red) to get charged up at the battery.         KEY battery is black negative trace is green resistor is blue […]

I use a lot of expensive thread. I waste even more. In this picture there are five kinds of conductive thread. You can identify the stainless steel thread because of the whiskers. Those pesky short circuit makers! I keep a scrap box of tangles, tails and tatters. When sewing small repairs and adding hardware to and electrical trace I use […]