Upcoming Soft Circuit Workshops at GAFFTA!

Woohoo! The first soft circuit workshop was such a success that they're doing it again! Grace Kim is a rock star! So much information. If you're in San Francisco, and you're interested in soft circuits, this is a great workshop to get you started. I understand that there are also more advanced workshops in the works.

Check out the time lapse video they did of the last workshop. Can you spot me? Hint, I'm wearing black and I'm not always sitting in the same spot. Ha!

Soft Circuit Workshop Timelapse from GAFFTA on Vimeo.

making a neoprene holder for coin cell battery

"threading" conductive fabric through the neoprene


making contact with coin cell battery


testing with an LED


hooking up contact points


holding the halves together while testing

One of the coolest items we got, at the gaffta workshop on Soft Circuits, was a nifty little battery holder made from neoprene and conductive fabric. As a result of this workshop, I'm now completely addicted to soft circuits. So the other night I tried to make one of these battery holders myself.

I found diagrams online, which were very helpful.

The trickiest part was figuring out how to make the gap I was seeing in diagrams. I cut two slots in the neoprene and "threaded" the conductive fabric through them. Thinking about the circuit helped me understand the structure. The battery needs to touch one part of the fabric and yet be isolated from the other end of it.

Testing with direct contact of an LED worked great. At each step, I stopped and checked the circuit. I also tested with jumper cables.

I can't help but think that if my physics labs had been this much fun, I'd have done a lot better in my physics classes.

San Francisco Soft Circuits Club?

Wondering if there's anyone local (San Francisco) who's interested in meeting up every now and then for a modern quilting bee, where we all bring our own soft circuit projects and hang out?

Cell Kits on Makers Market

Cell Kits on Makers Market
Originally uploaded by galaxygoo1

Woohoo! We were accepted into the curated Makers Market!

There's the cell project, right there on the front page of the market!

The Makers Market is still in beta, so I don't really know what to expect. But I'm very excited! alpharabbit.makersmarket.com

Testing the Circuit

zipper1
Originally uploaded by galaxygoo1

In a soft circuit, a zipper can function as a switch. How cool is that?! There's been some really interesting work done with them.

Starting my own experiments with them, I cut up an old pair of jeans for its brass zipper. The idea is to get the circuit running across the zipper, when it's closed. I used a chain stitch with conductive thread to build the rest of the circuit.

On my first attempt, I couldn't get the led to light up. So, I used my jumper cables to test at various points. This allowed me to pinpoint where the circuit failed. Turns out, the charge wasn't going across the zipper. Something was wrong with the connection between the conductive thread and the teeth on one side of the zipper.

The tricky part, is to get the conductive thread in contact with the zipper teeth without obstructing the zipper. The threads keep getting caught. So, I switched to 2-ply thread, hoping it would be less bulky. This did help and it works, but it's still finicky. Definitely calls for more trial and error, if I want to make this work reliably.

The biggest take away lesson for me? Jumper cables are fantastic!

adding pretty beads to a soft circuit

adding pretty beads
Originally uploaded by galaxygoo1

Today, I thought I'd try combining a very simple soft circuit with some sparkly beads. I'm very happy with the effect, and will have to keep playing. The led is a bit too bright here, so I'll look for some others.

I'm amazed at how easy it is to sew a simple circuit into fabric, with conductive thread.

This is my first solo experiment with soft-circuits, since starting the workshop at GAFFTA, so it's not very polished. Eventually, I'm hoping to connect these simple soft circuits with arduino programming...maybe even with Flash, someday. I don't know where I'm going with this stuff, but I'm having a great time...more fun than I've had in ages.

lilypad control connected to my laptop

lilypad control connected to my laptop
Originally uploaded by galaxygoo1

Oh, oh! Lilypad is possibly the most beautiful version of arduino out there! These things are gorgeous.

They were designed to be integrated into wearable technology, which is a field I'm just starting to explore. I ordered my first components recently, and they arrived today. It was pretty easy to get the arduino software set up, and upload a simple program to the controller. And voila! I have controlled a blinking light! Small steps. Who knows where I'll end up. It's a fantastic journey.