Obviously you have heard about Arduino and if you haven’t: it’s a microcontroller you can use to build all kinds of digitally controlled devices and installations. If you google the word though, you won’t find anything remotely glamorous. That is at first, because there are definitely some glam projects out there to get busy with. Let’s start with this starry night dress that literally shines.
Arduino dress
Arduino Project Hub user Maddy decided she wanted a blue dress with a sequin ombre she had seen online. Unfortunately the dress was a bit out of her price range, so she decided to turn it into a project. Not only did she manage to take the dress to the next level, she was also kind enough to share the process (including the Arduino code) online so we can all bring out our inner sparkle.
To get started you’ll need an Arduino LilyPad main board, a SparkFun LilyPad coin cell battery holder, some SparkFun LilyPad LED’s, sewable conductive thread and a bunch of jumper wires.
Sewing and programming
Then you obviously also need to be able to sew if you want to make an outfit from scratch. Of course you could also take something out of the closet and transform it into a garment that can lead you through the dark nights.
To attach the LED’s and the conductive wire to your garment of choice, you do need to do some light sewing. Nothing you can’t handle though and after that it’s time to start connecting and testing. You’ll find the code and schematics for the project on arduino.cc along with a few pictures of the dress in action.
Now let’s get to it!
