Breadboards – whats going on behind that plastic mask?   Unfortunately most breadboards have a backing material so you can’t see the connection channels.   A side view close up showing the clips inside the breadboard which hold the jump wires in place gives you some idea of how the connection channels are laid out.   To really understand […]

  When I receive a new ‘conductive thread’ I first test for continuity and then resistance.     Set your multimeter to the continuity setting, I prefer multimeters with an audible setting. Then place the two probes along the material to be tested. In general, if the multimeter makes a beeping sound then the material demonstrates continuity and will work […]

    Current flows from the battery along the negative trace (black) thru a resistor and to the negative lead of the LED. The electrons jump the P-N Junction inside the lens cap emitting light and the depleted current returns to the battery along the positive trace (red). Other blog posts on LED’s LED Close Up  

  Copper foil tape!  For your prototyping and paper computing needs. Fold the tape for the best results.   If the tape is cut and then stuck together the continuity is impeded by the adhesive backing.   Instead fold the tape to maintain the highest continuity (least resistance).   Plan your circuit so that you can best avoid cutting the […]

The easiest way to understand how the top thread and bobbin thread join to form a sewing machine stitch. Watch and learn! gif from wikimedia commons

i7 intel Mac mini 2.3 GHz 2 x 8GB RAM 1600MHz DDR3 upgrade Vengeance by Corsair AntiStatic pad or Area Power off All cords disconnected   Apple warnings   remove cover bottom plate   solid circle = closed open circle = open pressure on thumb notches and turn to the left     pop out old RAM release the two side […]

  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.