1. LilyPad and Sewable Circuits
Angela Sheehan
E-Textile Education Specialist
SparkFun Electronics
Kathy Lane
Library Programs Specialist
Boulder Public Library

2. 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.

3. 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

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

7. 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:

8. 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.

11. battery safety

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Bringing E-Textiles into Library Programming

16. 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

17. 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
e-Textile Mask

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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 LEDs and a battery. Discuss planning circuits and avoiding short circuits in larger projects.

21. 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.

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

23. 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

24. 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
Blinking
$0.60 / ea
Solid color $0.09 / ea
$2.36 pack of 25
or $0.28 singly

26. More Resources:
SparkFun Resources/Downloadable Activities:
SparkFun Project Tutorials:
High-Low MIT Media Labs:
- Paper Circuits
How To Get What You Want - online resources for techniques, and projects:
The Tinkering Exploratorium
Instructables

27. Where Can I Buy LilyPad Stuff?
E-Textiles
Category

28. 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.