E-Textiles
E-Textiles: The cross between Circuits, Electricity, and BioEngineering
Assignment: Make Your Own E-Textile
PreWork- first we need to know the basics of sewing!
Watch the following videos to give yourself some background knowledge on hand sewing and using conductive thread: Basics of Hand Sewing and E-Textiles Sewing Techniques and Sparkfun E Textiles to answer the questions in the document assigned in Google Classroom
Now that you have the basics laid out for you, begin on your project...
1. ASK: Choose your design- do some research!
What are your constraints (materials? time? ability? etc.)
Do some research (Google E-textiles) on what has been done before / what you need to know
You will get (to keep):
- 1 meter of conductive thread
- 3 LED lights
- 1 sewable coin cell battery holder
- 1 coin cell battery
- Your choice of 3 pieces of felt fabric (unless you want to provide your own) <--- You will need to tell me what colors you want and I will get them for you.
2. IMAGINE: You will need to come up with 4 different possible ideas for your project - Hoodie, mask, stuffed toy, bookmark...? The options are limitless!
* Make a list of the possible ideas you may want to try
* Next to each item create a full sketch (1/2 page) of your idea with a general map of where the wires are going to go. REMEMBER: the wires from the positive and negative poles CANNOT cross over each other or the lilypad or they will create a break in your circuit.
*List out the materials that you will need for me to supply
** Show these to Mrs Yelenick for points **
3. PLAN: Brainstorm & Make a Plan (worksheet from Mrs. Yelenick, or available in Google Classroom as a material)
Label the parts of the circuit and describe their function.
Trace components to aid with placement and planning.
Use different colors to highlight different types of planned connections - circuit lines CANNOT cross- this will create a short!
Example: red stitching connecting the positive sew tab of a battery holder to the positive tab of an LED.
Have students present projects to one another to double check their circuits' function and placement (pair share)
Identify any problem areas before construction time - are there places on the project that may be difficult to sew onto or to access (battery, switch, etc.)?
*** Once this is approved by Mrs. Yelenick, you may get your supplies and begin working ***
** You should be ready to work (ie have the plan done) by the end of this week (Thursday)**
4. PLAN: Test the circuit before sewing
After gathering the materials and components planned during brainstorming, it is time to prototype the circuit. To avoid the frustration of sewing things together only to find out they don’t work the way you planned, we recommend using alligator clips to temporarily connect LilyPad components and then testing the circuit and/or code... Or just run conductive thread. Mrs. Yelenick will show you how!
5. PLAN: Refine the Design
After some basic prototyping with your components, take some time to do a more refined sketch or diagram of the circuit layout. This is an opportunity to catch any problems with the design (crossed conductive thread paths, lack of room for components, etc.) before you start the construction process. This final sketch can also serve as a guideline if components get misplaced or moved during the build process.
6. CREATE: Build Time
Now that we have all that pesky planning out of the way, it’s time to build a project!
Tips for construction:
- Break the work down into sections or stages of construction, such as sewing in a LilyPad Arduino first and working on LEDs or sensors in batches.
- If possible, prototype and test connections as you complete them. This will catch any problems before the project is finished and may allow more time to fix or change as you go.
- Never work on a powered project! Remember that conductive thread is essentially uninsulated wire. If you were testing a section of the project, be sure to unplug or turn off before beginning construction again.
7. CREATE (Optional): Insulating your Thread
Conductive thread acts like uninsulated wire, which makes it great for sewing components together, but once a project is finished, the movement of fabric can let some pieces of thread accidentally touch. When working with conductive thread, make sure to pay special attention to insulating any power and ground lines so that they don’t short out your battery. Insulating stitches, once a project is complete, adds protection from potential short circuits created by movement, folding, or contact with conductive surfaces, as well as adding an extra barrier during wear and tear or washing.
See Mrs. Yelenick for this step- you will be using stretch fabric glue and a small paintbrush OR hot glue
8. Grading- Due TBD (the Green/Silver block schedules have made a hard date difficult)
Fill out a rubric assigned in Google Classroom
Attach (upload) a picture of your original AND final plan
Attach a picture of your WORKING project
NOTE: Embrace Troubleshooting!
As with any new skill, e-textile crafting has the potential to create some frustrations with projects that don't work right away or have hidden challenges. As students explore sewing with conductive thread, troubleshooting challenges can help push them to complete and rework a project to truly understandi it!
Tools to help with troubleshooting:
- Multimeter: For identifying short circuits or other electrical function issues.
- Hot glue gun: For quick fixes such as moving stray threads out of the way or insulation.
- Alligator clips: If a particular stretch of thread seems to be an issue, bypassing it by clipping LilyPad pieces directly together can help identify if the issue is in the way the thread is placed or if the components themselves are malfunctioning.
- Diagonal cutters: In instances where a component fails, students can carefully clip the sew tabs of the LilyPad piece and remove it without affecting the stitching. Place a new LilyPad piece in place of the old one and use some conductive thread to reattach to existing stitches.
RUBRIC
