Simple Light-Up Hoodie

By Craig Couden
Time Required: 1–3 Hours 
Difficulty: Easy

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Tron: Legacy was a decent movie, but what I was really wowed by were the luminescent costumes. I’ve been playing around with light-up clothing ideas ever since, and the simplest idea uses electroluminescent (EL) tape and some velcro to approximate Jeff Bridges’ glowing druid look from the film. It’s not remotely screen-accurate (for you purists out there), but it is a great way to wow your friends during a night out.

June 12, 2013, 4:15 pm PDT

Parts
/
Tools

Parts

Pocket-sized EL inverter, 4×AAA or 2×AA Adafruit recommends the more powerful 4×AAA inverter (Adafruit #564), but I used a 2×AA inverter (Adafruit #317) because it’s quieter, and I didn’t notice a drop in brightness.
Velcro tape, 1/2" or 3/4" wide, about 40 inches enough to match the EL tape. It's good to use the sticky-back type of velcro, but if not, you can use glue.
Electroluminescent (EL) tape strip, about 40 inches Adafruit #415. I went with “good guy” blue.
Batteries, rechargeable The EL tape drains the batteries in about 5–6 hours, so it’s worth investing in some rechargeable batteries.
Sweatshirt with large hood
EL wire extension cord Adafruit #616, adafruit.com

Tools

Sewing machine, or needle and thread
Glue (optional) if neither your velcro nor your EL tape has an adhesive backing

Steps

Step #1: Sew velcro to hood.

NextPrev

Cut a length of velcro equal to the length of the EL tape and hand or machine stitch the soft side onto the inside of the hood near the edge. You may want to remove the drawstring first.

Craig Couden

Craig is a human man. Definitely a human...no doubt about it! Let's do human things together, fellow humans!

4 Responses to Simple Light-Up Hoodie

Travon on July 18th, 2013 at 8:04 am said:

Maybe if Travon was wearing he wouldn’t have gotten shot..
- RobotAccomplice on September 9th, 2013 at 10:52 am said:
  
  Too soon.
Hugo on July 19th, 2013 at 2:24 am said:

Use fishing wire for the sewing otherwise you see all the thread, use chopsticks cut down to size to reinforce the connections at the start of the el wire run as that’s the weakest point once you start moving around with the clothing. Wire in a push to break switch too for more control. Don’t forget the end cap or secure the end of the el wire so it doesn’t short out.
jason on January 19th, 2016 at 12:12 pm said:

just got this in red with sound activation next weekend will be awesome just need to solder some bits and add the velcro and a inside pocket or belt holder