Jack-o-Lantern Completed!

Isn't it cute! I think I am addicted to LEDs. I was so excited to put the LEDs into this project that I finished it in 2 days. Conductive thread is a really cool thing to work with. It is just like a normal heavy cotton, like an embroidery thread, and yet once you have hooked everything together correctly it does amazing things like run these two LEDs.

The eye shape was designed just so there would be a little orange area to mount the LEDs on. I really like this project... I think I like this more than the robot project, though that was pretty cool too.

The circuit for these little 6" projects is quite simple so if you are new to electronics and want to have a play with conductive thread one of these little projects would be perfect for you. It would also be great as a holiday project for the kids. I think the instructions I've written out are fairly clear, but you could always leave me a comment or send me an email if you get stuck with it.

What else can I put LEDs into?... I really do think I'm addicted!!

Halloween Pumpkin

Aww its a scary pumpkin!! My work in progress this week - an original design. I was going to machine applique him, but I think spending a bit more time hand sewing with the needle-turn method is going to make him look a bit neater. I hope to finish him this weekend so perhaps I'll have another picture in a couple of days. That smile is about 4" across.

Electrotextile Robot

Remember back to these humble beginnings? I ran into several snags along the way with this project but it is finally finished. Firstly, I managed to completely lose the prototype. Yep, it's gone! I turned my sewing room upside down looking for it, then the rest of the house and even the shed was thoroughly searched, but either I didn't do a good enough search job or I took this somewhere and it didn't come home.

The second snag was in the making itself. I put together a little robot design to use three LEDs and then stitched it together with conductive thread - it didn't work. So I had to research all my basic electronics knowledge and relearn how to hook up multiple LEDs. Two days later, after cutting away all my conductive thread and soldered the pieces together multiple times I finally had it working. This was not without issues as well... and melting the plastic around the battery holder a little, some swearing, and lots of resoldering!

After finally getting it right and drawing up a circuit diagram for the pattern I stitched it up in conductive thread. The conductive thread is really great to work with. It is thicker than standard cotton thread, more like a stiff embroidery thread, so I had hardly any tangles. It also made the circuit come together a lot quicker than my experiences in soldering it. I tried to be very thorough in the pattern instructions so that if you have no experience in electronics but still want to give this a go it should be beginner friendly!

Long story short: The robot is finally complete and the result is very cute!!


For the next week you can get 10% off on the pattern and/or kit by using the coupon code GOGOROBOTLED

Suggestions for new designs welcome. Head over to the Happy Bobbin blog for the chance to win a 50% off coupon for your suggestion!