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 […]

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 […]

If you’ve ever had the good fortune of entering The Gas Station you know that my workbench is 20 feet long. This space is always a flow of projects, but this morning I noticed it was magnificently mashedup with materials. paints, solder, silk organza, great grandmothers silver sewing tray, conductive paint, Maxbotix and of course GLITTER!  Why the glitter?  I […]

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 […]

  This year’s eTextile Valentine is posted with my favorite DIY, How-To, Git’r’Done website. Instructables! Step by step instructions on how to se conductive thread, LEDs, 3V coin cell battery and your imagination to light up Hello Kitty! Now go. Make the world a more beautiful place!     Instructable

After sewing a piece of hardware into your textiles take your needle and thread and back stitch along the electrical trace to bury your thread tail. THEN clip the excess thread. This helps prevent short circuits because you don’t have loose threads near your hardware connections. Bonus – you don’t need unsightly messy fabric glue. ewwwwwwwww!

Today I began sewing Hello Kitty’s electronic circuits! Positive and Negative traces. Sewing the LED’s into the circuit. SPOILER ALERT: 2013’s How To DIY eTextile Valentine’s Day Project can be found on this page.

Find the inspiration. Overnight I saw @inventor_artist twittering about their laser cutting Hello Kitty! Valentine Day cards. In the blog post images I saw the solution to my circuit challenge. EUREKA! Design the circuit And gather the Supplies! SPOILER ALERT: 2013’s How To DIY eTextile Valentine’s Day Project is here.

    The best conductive thread that I have used is no longer manufactured. Which means I am conserving my supply and purchasing a 1 pound cone of with a resistance of 15 ohms/foot. The diameter of this thread is larger so I use a size 24 chennile needle. It also has a bity tooth to the thread surface so […]

I’ve been organizing the studio so I know there is not a single inch of black satin ribbon. But I looked anyway and found a better solution!