How to Use the Light Up Board with Textiles

You might have considered adding the Light Up Board to textiles or clothing, but weren’t quite sure where to start. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to attach the Light Up Board to fabric with conductive thread, then how to add an Electric Paint switch. You can use this method to attach the Light Up Board to your costumes or outfits! We recommend using a small and portable USB power bank to light up the board on the go.

Materials

To begin you will need:

• Light Up Board

• Electric Paint 10ml

• conductive thread

• needle

• fabric

Step 1: Sew connections to textile

The first step is to decide which Light Up Board light mode you would like to use. To get a full overview of the light modes you can choose from, see this tutorial here.

In this tutorial, we chose the touch mode, which means we will be connecting electrodes E9 and E10 together, using E0 as a button. Sew through electrodes E9 and E10, connecting them together and the board to the fabric. Sew the thread through the electrodes a couple of times to get a good connection.

It’s always good to test along the process. To check if E9 and E10 are connected via the thread, connect the Light Up Board to power and touch E0 twice. If the Light Up Board lights up and off, then E9 and E10 are connected.

Step 2: Sew a connection to the switch

The next step is to sew a connection to the switch, which is electrode E0. First, sew the thread a couple of times around E0, so that the thread is tightly connected to the electrode. Then, sew a line or curve from electrode E0 to wherever you want to make your switch.

Again, test your connection. Connect the board to a power source and touch the stitching. The light on the board should turn on and off.

Step 3: Paint a switch with Electric Paint

When you are happy with the stitching, you can paint your switch with Electric Paint. For this example, we painted a small circle. Remember, you can’t bend unsealed Electric Paint (it won’t be able to conduct), so make sure to not apply too much. Leave the paint to dry before powering the board again.

Step 4: Power up and test

When the paint has dried, connect the board to power and touch the Electric Paint button. If the Light Up Board lights up, then you have successfully attached the Light Up Board to your textiles!

You can use a portable power bank to power your Light Up Board. Note, some commercially available power banks have a shut-off function to prevent drainage of the battery. This means the power bank might turn off when it senses not enough power is drawn. Your power bank might turn off when the Light Up Board isn’t on, simply turn the power bank on again.

We would love to see your creations, so feel free to send us your creations at [email protected], or via Instagram or Twitter.