Hi everyone! This video is another part of a series of tutorials on my website about making
your own e-textiles or sewable electronics projects. This video in particular goes on
a few different tangents for beginner project ideas - I mostly just want to show that a simple
concept can be expanded on in many different ways. One of the projects is making your own
light up removable patch that you can attach to clothing, bags, accessories, even toys. Or you
can even turn it into your own little light-up cushion or toy in itself. For your convenience
I've already designed a bunch of different patterns that are absolutely free to download
and use, they are on my website in the description down below. They are also the examples I used to
make the projects in this video. And you are more than welcome to edit and change them as you wish.
If you are unfamiliar with e-textiles and this is one of your first projects, I would
recommend checking out my previous guides, and the general crash course I've written on e-textiles,
which goes a lot more depth on the different components that we are using today - they're
all linked in the description down below and all available on the same website. The patterns that
I'm using for this video are all very similar structurally, they're just in different shapes.
You will notice that some of the pieces have 'base' and 'cover' written on them.
That's because in e-textiles, you're sewing the components directly to the fabric which means you
can see the stitching on the outside - and I've seen from teaching some classes that a lot of
people don't actually like how it looks. So the way I've designed it is that the base piece is
actually what you're sewing the components onto, it's going to have everything attached to it.
Then the cover piece is actually a separate piece of fabric that you simply sew or glue on top,
which covers the stitching lines and just makes it look a lot cleaner. I've put some dotted lines
on the pattern to help line up the pieces, and there's also some gaps that you don't sew or glue
down because of course you still need to get to the battery holder to turn it on and off. These
circuits on each of the patterns are all just very simple parallel circuits, they've just been put in
different locations to work with the design and you're more than welcome to change them - just
remember that none of the threads of the stitching lines should ever cross over and you still need to
be able to access the battery holder to switch it on and off. So now that I've gone over the
patterns that we are using for these projects, let's get into actually making the projects! I
will add timestamps to this video for reference. I made four projects overall but only filmed three
of them because they are actually very similar structurally. The first project is of course this
detachable patch, which you can attach to clothes. I put it on a t-shirt and then another one on a
teddy bear backpack as an example. Then I made a slightly more complicated version of a patch to
add to the back of a denim vest. Then the final project was this little star toy or a cushion.
Now all of these projects were made with felt, which is the perfect beginner fabric of choice.
If you don't like the look of felt and want to use a different fabric, I would still recommend using
felt as the base material because it will save you a lot of stress especially if you're a beginner in
e-textiles and sewing. Instead you can change the cover fabric to be a different material,
something that you're more interested in using - so you're still getting the look that you want but
it's going to be a lot easier to make. We'll start by going over how to make the detachable patches
so we'll get right into it. The components we're using for all of these examples is a sewable coin
battery holder with two positive and two negative pins, along with sewable LED's. The circuit will
be made with conductive thread, which will be hand sewn with a sewing needle. Having some way to draw
your circuit on the fabric as a guide helps a lot too, so that could be with a fabric pen or chalk.
I also like to use masking tape to attach the components to the fabric while they're being
sewn down, and clear nail polish will come in handy to keep the knots of the conductive
thread while secured. The pattern I'm using here is the cat skull design but with the ears removed.
Trace around and cut out the pieces, I like to use a darker color for the base and a lighter
color for the cover. Referencing back to the pattern, lay out your components matching
the same positive (+) and negative (-) symbols with the little plus and minus at each end.
Now's the time to tape everything down, and don't apply the tape on too hard because you will need
to peel it off later. I like to tape down the end which I am not sewing first so it does not get in
the way. Here I'm taping down the negative because I am sewing the positive first. Using chalk or a
pen, draw in your circuit from the battery holder to each pin of the components. This will help you
check that there is enough room for the circuit and nothing is crossing over. Now it's time to
sew the circuit. I like to start from the biggest component which is usually the battery holder to
anchor it down, looping around the pin about four times and making the thread tight over the pin to
ensure that there is good contact. Then follow the marked line to the first pin using a running
stitch. I like to keep my stitches about half a centimeter (0.5cm) to a centimeter (1cm) wide.
Once you're at the first pin of the LED, loop it around multiple times just like the battery
holder. Because we are sewing the positive thread, we need to link all of the positive pins up, from
the positive on the battery holder to all three on the LED's. It's good to cut off a bit more thread
than you think you need because you're going to lose some of the length when looping it around
the pins. If you run out of thread before all the pins are connected, make sure to finish your
thread on a pin then restart from the same pin, looping it around multiple times. This will help
maintain the flow of current from one component to another even if it's on different threads.
Once the positives are all connected, knot off your thread and make sure to cut the tail off
the thread as any loose threads can interfere with the circuit, as they can move around.
You can remove the tape, and now it's time to sew the negative thread. Using a brand new thread,
repeat the same step you did for the positive but instead we are sewing the
negative pins. Following the marked line and finishing to knot off at the last pin.
Once the thread is all sewn in knotted off, flip it over and use some clear nail polish
to dab on the knots to keep them in place. As conductive thread is generally stiffer
than normal sewing thread, it is easier for it to unravel without some kind of support.
Now's a good time to check by inserting the battery to ensure that all of the lights
are working. If it's not working for some reason, double check that your components
are in the right direction - matching the positives and the negatives, along with
checking that your thread stitching is well secured to the components.
Then it's just using some normal sewing thread to sew down the leftover pins on the battery holder.
With the circuit all done we can start adding the cover. I sewed all of my covers down but you can
glue them if you just follow the dotted line on the edge of the patterns. When sewing them down
you can do whichever stitch you like, it could be decorative or invisible, so long as the cover
is well secured. And make sure to leave a gap if the battery holder is underneath the cover piece.
A final embellishment (completely optional) was to simply cover the cover pieces with rhinestones
to make an almost crystal-like skull. I have a slight obsession with rhinestones,
but who can blame me when they add so much effect especially when LED's are involved???
Now we're at the point to attach the finished patch to a garment. The easiest way to do this
is simply with hook and loop tape. You can buy a sticky version of this tape from your local
craft store which has a very strong glue side that you peel off and stick to the project.
And I would recommend to stick the hook side to the patch (which is the rough scratchy side)
and not to the garment. So instead on the garment you would attach the
loops (which would be the fluffy side). My reason for that is that the hooks can be quite
harsh and it might grab on to your conductive thread stitching when you remove the patch.
I like to round off the edges as it can help prevent them from peeling up as easily.
With the tape attached to the patch,
I connect the two pieces together and peel the backing off the remaining tape.
So when you add it to the garment of choice, all the pieces are attached exactly where you
want them to be. With the first project all done, making my teddy bear backpack was a very similar
process. I did not film making it but the circuit is identical and was simply attached to a toy with
hook-and-loop tape. The toy itself was converted into a backpack by just adding a zipper in the
back and adding straps. Since sewing a circuit would be quite difficult on the teddies' fur,
you can simply attach a patch on top to become its own unique feature.
Let's jump into the next project, which is also similar but a little more fashion-focused.
This patch is designed to spread across a wider area like someone's back, with LED's on each
side. We have all the pieces cut out, here is a pair of wings and a contrast heart in the middle.
Same as the previous patch, following the pattern we need to match the pins of the battery holder
to the LED. Once it looks correct it needs to be loosely taped to the fabric to keep
them all in place. Now we can start sewing. This design follows two separate parallel circuits,
so you need to sew the two positive pins on one side, knot it off and cut the thread.
Then go back to the battery holder on the other side and sew those two remaining positive pins.
Once that is done you need to do the same with the negative pins. Sew the two pins on one side,
then knot off and repeat the other. Another way of seeing it is that if you split the battery
holder in half, you would see that these are two individual circuits - if for some reason
the thread broke on one side and made the LED's stop working, the other side will be unaffected.
Because I'm using white felt for the wings, the LED light shows through really well,
so I'm just going to simply put the felt on top of them.
Then we're going to sew the heart on, keeping a gap at the bottom just big enough to access
the battery holder. One thing you can do to avoid leaving a gap for the battery holder on the cover
piece is that you can simply sew the battery holder to the other side of the base fabric.
So all you need to do is simply switch it on before attaching the patch to your garment with
the hook-and-loop tape. I didn't do that because I'm attaching this patch directly to the garment
in this case, but it's something to at least think about when making your own. Here's where
I took the opportunity to add a little sparkle with some pearls - completely optional of course
but it works well with the LED's. Lastly it was simply a case of sewing the patch to the vest.
I ended up just sewing it down since the vest is more of a showpiece, and that hook-and-loop
tape is VERY sticky and I didn't want it to leave a mark if I wanted to remove it later.
And now this project is all finished! Finally we have a little star toy. We are using the
same components as before, the battery holder and the LED's, but with your main felt pieces
you will need to cut another base piece, so the layers can be sewn together later and filled.
Following the pattern, lay out your components, matching the positives and negative pins.
Draw in the circuit checking the pins are matching on the same line
and after that's done it's time to sew the circuit with the conductive thread.
Starting with the largest component being the battery holder, I'm starting with the inner string
of LED's which is the positive thread. Beginning by sewing around the positive pin of the battery,
looping around multiple times and continuing into a running stitch until all of the positive
pins are connected. And then finishing with a small tight knot and cut off any excess thread.
Remove the tape holding the components down, and on a new thread do exactly
the same with the negative pins, starting from the negative of the battery holder and around
all of the leftover pins, checking that all of the pins are well secured to the fabric and are
making good contact with the conductive thread. Once the thread is knotted off and cut, it's a
good time to do a quick test with the battery to check it is working as intended. Then flip it over
and dab some clear nail polish on the knots to keep them well secured. Use some standard sewing
thread to attach the remaining pins of the battery holder to the fabric to stop it wiggling around.
to help the LED's shine as bright as they can, I used a leather hole punch I purchased from Daiso
to hammer some small tiny holes in where the LED's will line up on the cover piece.
You can also simply cut out the holes, but at least a punch will keep it neat and tidy.
Line up all of the holes with the LED's and now we just need to attach the cover.
I just sewed around the edges in a matching yellow thread, ensuring to leave a gap at the bottom just
big enough to access the battery holder. And if this was going to be a patch this is where
the project would be complete, but since we are stuffing it to make a toy we need to then sew
the two base pieces together to form a bag. Pin the two base pieces together to line them up,
then sew around the edges in a standard sewing thread and have the stitches be about half a
centimeter (0.5cm) to a centimeter (1cm) wide at most otherwise, bits of stuffing can tend to poke
out the gaps. Sew all the way around until there is a gap left about five centimeters (5cm) wide
then you can fill this bag opening with stuffing material. You could use pillow stuffing, or
cotton balls, or even fabric scraps as a way to reduce the waste from cutting out the materials.
Once it is big enough to have some squish to it, but not big enough that you can't
close the opening, you can continue to sew the blanket stitch around the gap to close it up.
You could draw on a face or details to personalize it further. There's really not much of a
difference between this and the patch project, but at least the toy does serve a different purpose.
These patch designs were really fun to think about, I went through a few different iterations
of these patch designs because I've taught a few workshops and would hear different
feedback from people of what they would be interested in. So far the skull design has
actually been the most popular interestingly enough. And with all of that being said,
thank you so much for watching, I hope you'll have a wonderful day and I will see you later, bye!