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There’re loads of tricks to take away from these stylish women.
What do you think of their looks?
Just take a look at the 38 celebrities below, including Salma Hayek, Carrie Underwood and Jada Pinkett Smith, in order to see how these rules applied. I have used a modified version of the code written for the Adafruit Sparkle Skirt project.
This code is well documented and annotated which makes it fairly straightforward to modify.
Whenever altering flash duration and timing, and extra randomness for flash patterns, I have tried to annotate my modifications which include adding favorite colors. My partner, while at a craft show, picked up will not interrupt the flow or fit of the dress.
Unknowingly, she had found the perfect material for creating our LED strip.
So this will allow the flaps of the bias tape to cover and protect the power traces to minimize the risk of short circuits. You have to check your work each few pixels by connecting the traces with alligator clips, first to your multimeter to check continuity on the power traces and after all to your Flora to you shouldreally have a consistent connection over the data trace. Anyways, be very sure you have no short circuits before connecting your Flora. Also, using your conductive thread, sew the data trace in the center of the bias tape and sew the two power rails on either side between the fold and the data trace. Use the measurements you made in step 4 to determine how much bias tape you will need for your dress and mark, in chalk or washable fabric pen, the desired placement for any Neopixel. Single fold bias tape has any raw edge folded in wards the center and pressed flat which made a perfect channel to run the three conductive thread traces between any Neopixel. For example, bias tape is created from fabric that is cut on the bias which makes it slightly stretchy and causes it to flow and drape more naturally.
As soon as you have everything tested and working to your satisfaction it’s time to attach the LED strip to the Flora circuit and attach it all to the dress.
When you have everything pinned up you’d better sew the three LED traces into the Flora and run one final test.make sure your pins are not shorting any of your traces.
If everything is working you are now ready to sew! So this allows you to check placement, drape and comfort before committing it with needle and thread. Stitching a tack or two in every of the pinned points must create an anchor strong enough to withstand even the most violent of party twerking sessions…although with this much action you may seek for to carry a spare battery. Now look, the bias tape sits naturally and follows the flow of the underskirt, Pin the Flora pouch to one the underskirt side and pin the initial stage of the LED strip near the D6 pad of the Flora Place pins, pinning down any point that buckles or pulls away from it. I recommend pinning everything to the dress before you start sewing. Although, the Flora must attach somewhere below the waist to one side and shouldn’t interfere with normal movement of the legs or torso.
You will need to decide how and where to attach all the circuitry.
LED placement might be well spaced over the entire area of the skirt while considering the path the conductive threads will need to take.
So in case your dress has pleats it’s crucial to consider how a folded pleat may cause the conductive threads to uch and potentially short out. I found that laying the dress out flat and measuring from seam to seam makes it easier to calculate the spacing of the LEDs. As a result, what technology could add sparkle to…well, to anything? Seriously. Ultra bright, individually addressable RGB LEDs for sure! Large helping of inspiration and construction techniques came from Becky Stern at Adafruit and her excellent Sparkle Skirt tutorial. Combine them with a Arduniocompatible microcontroller and accelerometer and you’ve got the perfect flash as you move setup. So this keeps the Flora and accelerometer from rubbing on the outer skirt, hides the status LEDs, and reduces the potential of accidental short circuits. I used double the length of the material so I could fold it over and sew down three sides to form a pouch. You see, I also used a scrap of material to fashion a small pocket to hold the rechargeable battery.
Take your piece of scrap material and fix into your embroidery hoop.
This material will hold the Flora, accelerometer and the conductive thread traces that link the two.
It will also provide a straightforward way to attach these components without having to sew them directly to the dress. Basically, sew the four traces between the Flora and the accelerometer connecting the following pads together. See the attached picture and wiring diagram for reference. Parts Sequined and similar dress/skirt with a sheer outer skirt, preferably with a metallic finish and opaque underskirt1 x Adafruit Flora microcontroller 1 x Adafruit FLORA Accelerometer/Compass Sensor12. Then, use regular cotton thread to any knot. So, I strongly recommend reading through the Adafruit tutorial if so it is your first time using conductive thread.
I had a few goals in mind while planning to tackle this challenge.
I was looking for a subtle but stunning, non geeky effect that did not detract from the elegance of the dress.
I wanted the LEDs and micro controller to be removable and reusable and their removal will be easy while still leaving the dress in a wearable, unaltered state. Although, at identical time I wanted them to be securely attached, comfortable to wear and undetectable when not in use.a seamless experience for both the user and her onlookers. Make sure you leave a comment about it. Thank you for taking the time to look through my very first Instructable.
If you have any questions about this project or any constructive feedback on how I could improve this tutorial please let me know.
Technology was the answer!
Technology will triumph! Now let me ask you something. How could I make an already very sparkly dress more sparkly? Ok, and now one of the most important parts. My dress might be more sparkly than yours. So idea for this project sprang from my partner’s desire to wear a sparkly dress on New Years Eve. It was further fueled by a friends statement. More sparkly? That’s where it starts getting interesting. This was a challenge I could not refuse! My apologies for the quality of the video. It was very difficult to find a light setup that showed both the sparkle of the sequins and the flash of the LEDs.