LilyPad and Sewable Circuits Angela Sheehan E-Textile Education Specialist SparkFun Electronics angela.sheehan@sparkfun.com Kathy Lane Library Programs Specialist Boulder Public Library lanek@boulderlibrary.org

Crafting with e-Textiles Introduces electronics concepts through familiar craft activities. Help to inspire and engage a wider range audiences in STEM and STEAM. Requires less specialized equipment compared to soldering activities.

Fabric and Fiber Arts, Traditional Craft, Fashion Techniques Electronic Embroidery Sewable Circuits e-Textiles e-Sewing Wearable Electronics Soft Circuits Electronic Prototyping, Interaction Design, Computer Programming, Engineering

Basic Circuit Traditional Electronics Sewable Electronics Parallel vs. series Traditional Electronics Sewable Electronics

Let’s Build: e-Textile Art Pin LilyPad Version Cost for 5 Kits (with Educator Discount): LilyPad LED (5 pk) - $3.16 Conductive Thread Bobbin (30 ft) - $2.36 20 mm Coin Cell Battery (5) - $7.80 LilyPad Switch Coin Cell Holder (5) - $19.80 Additional supplies: fabric, felt, pin back ~ $7 total cost per project (including craft supplies). Non-LilyPad Version Cost Breakdown for 5 Kits (with Educator Discount): 3mm LED (5) - $1.40 Conductive Thread Bobbin (30 ft) - $2.36 20 mm Coin Cell Battery (5) - $7.80 Sewable Coin Cell Holder (no switch) (5) - $5 Additional supplies: fabric, felt, pin back ~ $3.50 total cost per project (including craft supplies). Non-LilyPad saves on cost, but does not include a battery holder with switch, built in resistors, or ready-to-sew components. Full instructions and downloadable templates: http://sfe.io/r86

Sewing Components Sew conductive thread along lines and loop through the conductive pads at least 3 or 4 times for a good connection. Tie a knot and snip the tail short. Be aware of where you are sewing. It is easy to accidentally connect the negative to positive as shown on the left. Make sure all components are aligned and sewn correctly.

battery safety

Avoiding Short Circuits Thread across components Thread crossing other thread Bridges & insulation troubleshooting / fixes Sewing positive to negative on components Connecting positive directly to negative on battery holder Loose tails/loops

Short Circuits: Loose Thread Tails Loose tails touching other conductive threads cause short circuits. Always trim any extra thread and seal with glue or fray check to prevent accidental contact.

Short Circuits: Loose Stitching Components that are not stitched tightly against fabric allow for movement and potential disconnection from thread/circuit or accidental contact with other thread/components.

Bringing E-Textiles into Library Programming

Tips for Workshop Planning: Pre-assembling, kitting, or dividing out materials such as pre-threaded needles, glued on components or precut shapes will cut down on build time and frustration. More tips for E-Textiles Workshops at Learn.Sparkfun.com https://learn.sparkfun.com/blog/1361

Twinkling Trick or Treat Bag Smaller, successful projects keep participants engaged and excited about crafting. Then move onto larger projects. An ideal workshop is 1-3 hours. For larger projects, break into a series of smaller events. Twinkling Trick or Treat Bag https://sfe.io/t296 e-Textile Mask https://sfe.io/t306

Tips for E-Textile Instructors: Embrace failure! Practice projects beforehand. Provide pre-built demos. Encourage planning. Don’t be afraid of failure! Trial and error is an important part of crafting and learning. Use mistakes or hiccups in the build process as opportunities to learn troubleshooting skills. Try out projects beforehand - make sure you and any volunteers are comfortable with common mistakes and troubleshooting. Provide pre-built demos for students to explore, label what’s happening in the circuit and the pieces. Encourage participants to draw out their circuit.

Tips for E-Textile Instructors: Make the project scalable. Invite neighborly collaboration. Give participants a simplified pattern/project with opportunities for customization instead of a more complicated activity with many parts, pieces, or steps. The students who advance quickly can embellish or add features to their project making all skill levels successful. Invite neighborly collaboration. Great for intergenerational connections. mixed level/age groups

E-Textiles Learning Process: Building Paper Circuits/Squishy Circuits - great for younger ages. Simple E-Textiles Project - single LED and battery. Explore sewing with conductive thread. Multiple LED circuits - 3-5 LEDs and a battery. Discuss planning circuits and avoiding short circuits in larger projects.

E-Textiles Learning Process: Programming Craft with pre-programmed microcontrollers. Learn about programming concepts and how they work. Introduce Arduino programming with LilyPad. Explore prototyping with alligator clips and construction techniques and planning for larger interactive projects.

Budgets & Supplies (Insert Lily Twinkle or other lilypad project here for budget comparison) materials list comparison - pros/cons resistors vs lilypad leds

Lilypad Budget $16 per set $20 per set ProtoSnap - LilyTwinkle (Prices shown are with SparkFun’s Educator Discount) ProtoSnap - LilyTwinkle ProtoSnap - eSewing Kit $16 per set Including: Laser-Cut Felt “Jar” Parts 4 x White LilyPad LEDs ProtoSnap LilyTwinkle Board LilyPad Coin Cell Battery Holder Bobbin of Conductive Thread Needle Set Coin Cell Battery $20 per set Including: 5" Fabric Template 5 x LilyPad White LEDs LilyPad Button LilyPad Slide Switch LilyPad Coin Cell Battery Holder Bobbin of Conductive Thread Needle Set Coin Cell Battery

Simple LED Project Budget* *Non-LilyPad saves on cost, but does not include a battery holder with switch, built in resistors, or ready-to-sew components. Simple LED Project Budget* 1 set approx $7 10 sets approx $32 25 sets approx $78 Budget includes: 2 blinking LEDs 2 solid LEDs Conductive thread Battery Needles Additional supplies needed: Felt or other fabric Buttons, bling, embroidery floss Battery pouch (felt, foam, closure) Scissors, Needle nose pliers vs. $0.03 / foot $32 $0.08 / foot $2.36 Also recommend having pens, pencils, embroidery hoop blinking LEDs $0.60 x 2 solid LED $.28 x 2 conductive thread $2.36 needles $1.56 battery $0.76 https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11928 Blinking $0.60 / ea Solid color $0.09 / ea $2.36 pack of 25 or $0.28 singly

More Resources: SparkFun Resources/Downloadable Activities: http://learn.sparkfun.com/resources/tags/e-craft http://learn.sparkfun.com/resources/tags/e-textiles SparkFun Project Tutorials: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/tags/e-textiles High-Low Tech @ MIT Media Labs: http://highlowtech.org http://highlowtech.org/?p=2505 - Paper Circuits How To Get What You Want - online resources for techniques, and projects: http://www.kobakant.at/DIY The Tinkering Studio @ Exploratorium http://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/paper-circuits Instructables http://www.instructables.com/howto/lilypad/

Where Can I Buy LilyPad Stuff? E-Textiles Category http://www.sparkfun.com/categories/204

Coding Tips Program your board before snapping the pieces apart. Play, play, play! Cut the pieces with snips - bending the board can break the wires. Test your circuit and code with alligator clips before sewing. Note - for programming boards, you’ll need access to laptops, alligator clips and mini USB cords.