LED Princess Dress Also Lights Up Girl’s Face

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.

14 thoughts on “LED Princess Dress Also Lights Up Girl’s Face

  1. 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.

    1. 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.

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