By Becky Stern
I love any activity that promotes creativity and discovery. To me, tinkering with electronics is the same as stitching a picture, and combined they can tell a story that crafters and gearheads both want to hear. This picture of a frog catching fireflies is embellished with lights that bring the bugs to life. Conductive thread is the magic ingredient, bridging the gap between rigid metal and soft floss. To make a stitched scene light up, combine traditional embroidery techniques with a few common electronics components. The possibilities are endless, and the result is an artful conversation piece.

Tools

Drill and drill bit
Fabric
Needlenose pliers
Scissors
Soldering iron and wire
Wooden embroidery hoop, 5″

Relevant parts

Embroidery pattern (download below)
Carbon paper, and a pen or pencil
Sternlab LED Sewing kit in Maker Shed
5mm yellow LEDs (2)
On/off toggle switch
Coin cell battery CR2032
Battery holder with sewable leads
Conductive thread
Embroidery needle and floss in yellow, green, pink, and black
Sewing thread any color

Download the Pattern PDF Right click to save the PDF to your desktop. Directions on downloading PDFs.

Go to Make: Projects for the full directions
Video:



Pictured above are more LED embroidery examples for inspiration. As you can see, the possibilities are endless!