GlowStitch LEDs is an innovative new project that is aimed at making machine-sewable LEDs for wearable tech and special crafts of all forms. The LEDs are made from flexible circuit boards which makes them sewable with a machine and usable for various creative projects by makers, cosplayers, fashion designers, and hobbyists.
Until now, sewing LEDs to clothing and soft circuits (e-textiles) had to be done by hand with conductive thread, an arduous process that requires a lot of patience. With the GlowStitch LEDs, creative projects can be prototyped using conductive tape and actualized with a sewing machine. This project has a focus on education and the kit is designed to be used by makers of all skill levels.
The LED strips can be machine-washed. However, the maker recommends hand-washing with no tumble dry. The battery should always be removed before washing. Although this is not a kit that requires coding to use, throwing a microcontroller or a single-board computer (such as the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W) into the mix would certainly make things more interesting.
GlowStitch Maker Kit contents:
- 20-page instruction guide with project ideas, tips, tricks, and troubleshooting help.
- Two sheets of LEDs
- A color-cycling LED sheet (three LEDs per strip), a white LED sheet (one LED per strip)
- Ten LED strips on a sheet
- A test point at the base for connecting a battery holder
- AAA Battery Holder
- CR2032 Coin Cell Battery Holder
- 20m roll of 8mm conductive tape
Possible applications for the GlowStitch kit include wearable technology, paper circuits, cosplay, PCB artwork, and kids’ crafts, to name a few. We can also see it working very nicely on an aesthetic Raspberry Pi case.
The GlowStitch project launched on Crowd Supply on November 23, 2023, and has well surpassed its goal. Funding is slated to end on the 4th of January, 2023. The maker kit is priced at $45, with a shipping fee of $8 to the United States and $18 to the rest of the world. The white and color cycling LEDs can be bought separately for $12 and $14, respectively.
Tomisin is a writer specializing in hardware product reviews, comparisons, and explainers. He is very passionate about small form factor and single-board computers.
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