We’re pretty sure that [Luke] took Uncle of the Year last Halloween when he made an RGB LED princess dress for his niece. He recently found the time to document the build with a comprehensive how-to that’s just in time for Halloween ’17.
[Luke] made the system modular so that his niece could use it with any dress. The RGB LED strips are actually fastened down the inside of a petticoat — a fluffy, puffy kind of slip that’s worn underneath the dress. The LEDs face in toward the body, which helps diffuse the light. [Luke] first attached the strips with their own adhesive and then spent a lot of time sewing them down so they stayed put. At some point, he found that hot glue worked just as well.
The coolest part of this project (aside from the blinkenlights of course) is the power source. [Luke] used what he already had lying around: an 18V Ryobi battery pack. He wired a step-converter to it using a printed cap from Shapeways that’s designed to connect metal clips to the battery contacts. This cap really makes these packs useful for a lot of projects that need long-lasting portability.
These batteries are rated for 240W, which is overkill considering the load. But there’s a reason: it keeps heat to a minimum, since the electronics are hidden inside a cute little backpack. Speaking of cute, you can see his niece model the dress after the break.
Love it. Hot glue and all.
This needs WS2818 led strips. And some animations :)
And an accelerometer to light up when she twirls
I actually worked on the dress for the Disney Cinderella movie. And it contained hundreds of WS2812 leds. individually soldered together with conductive thread.
Anyone remember Disney’s Cinderella? At the end, pink, blue, pink, blue, etc! Bonus if she has 3 friends who can come dressed as fairy godmother and 2 of them ends up arguing pink or blue.
I think you mean Sleeping Beauty.
Great job! Bonus points for making a little girl happy!
I love it, but I wonder whether attaching a child’s clothing to a high current source is a good idea. Still, the ryobi pack is a much safer choice than a cheap LiPo.
ok, you have a point there, but how real is that point? Please be aware that people many people around your are driving cars with much more of those potentially unsafe batteries, still waiting for the first to explode.
I’m more worried about the fabric itself, as lot’s of those fluffy fabrics are a potential fire hazard in themselves, one step too close to that smiling pumpkin and tragedy might happen. And there are many more little girls running around in those same dresses every year and still nothing (seriously enough worth mentioning in the news) seem to have happened.
So seriously, don’t scare people with what might go wrong, because everything around us is dangerous if you think long enough. Don’t take the fun out of this nice dress that creates smiles and laughter of amazement. This dress is most likely a dream come true for this little girl, that is the thought that should be cherished. I’m also sure that the light will make her be seen better by cars when she crosses the street, therefore increasing safety greatly.
Cool project! I really like the color changing feature.
I will add a fast blow, low current fuse to it for extra safety – Luke
freakin awesome. Little girl too cute. Needs a blouse and tiara. Warm up the glue gun. Covers high visibilty issue. Question is what did he make her this year? Is uncles’ dilemma: How do I top that?
By making everyday attire with integrated LEDs, climate control, vice synthetizer, self adjustable…
BtotF2 jacket,
She wanted to wear the same thing this year and just trick-or-treat in another neighborhood to get new reactions. The girl is onto something here. I should build her a LED tiara to go with it.
Thanks for posting this Hack-a-Day, you guys are awesome!