Wearables » Week 2: Soft Circuit
Inspiration
Digging through a box of fabric scraps at home, I stumbled upon a cotton pajama bottom with what appeared to be a Japanese style batik print.
I like the organic design and it occurred to me the switch might take the form of two opposing leaves on either side of a stalk.
Circuit
Raw Materials
Process
Bill of Materials
- wool felt
- cotton fabric with batik print
- Knit Conductive Fabric (w/ iron on backing)
- 2 x SparkFun white LilyPad LEDs
- 1 x Sewable CR2032 Battery Holder
- 1 x 3V CR2032 Lithium Coin Cell Battery
- Stainless Medium Conductive Thread - 3 ply
Final Image(s)
Conclusions
I did my best to use a hidden stitch to get from the battery holder to the LEDs then down to the switch but it’s still a visual distraction.
It would probably have been better to run the stitches down the stalk of the plant then come off the stalk as though the thread were small branches, the illuminated LEDs effectively representing buds at their tips.
Alternatively, had I not positioned the battery holder directly behind the head of the plant, I might have incorporated the LEDs there.
I’m quite happy with the switch, however. It performs surprisingly well as a momentary switch, presumably because the felt on which the conductive fabric is bonded is wool and wool has ‘memory’.