EL Wire Pants

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Contributors: bboyho
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Prepare the EL Wire

Testing the EL Wire and EL Inverter

Before sewing the EL wire to a piece of clothing, make sure to test it out to see if it is functioning. To test, connect the EL wire to an inverter. In this case, we are using AA batteries and the 3V EL inverter battery pack.

Insert EL Wire's JST Connector into EL Battery Pack

With the battery in the EL inverter battery pack, press the button to test. If the EL wire lights up, both the EL wire and EL inverter are good to go!

EL Wire Lit Up

Planning the Path

Plan out where to add EL wire. To hold down the EL wire when sewing, we will be using binder clips. Depending on what you have, you could also try to use pins or tape. Place the EL wire into the binder clip and clamp it down against the fabric. Make sure to avoid clamping the EL wire down where the binder clip pinches as this can damage the corona wires.

Binder Clip Guiding EL Wire on Pants

In this case, all 3 meters of EL wire were used starting by the left pocket, running down the side of the leg, and back up to the waist. The EL wire then followed the waist in the back before running down the right side of the leg and back up to the right pocket. The length along each side was adjusted to be symmetric.

Planning a path with binder clips along the side of pants and waist

Prepare the Needle and Thread

For this tutorial, we will double up the clear thread. Prepare your needle and thread by inserting the end of the clear thread through the eye (opening) of the needle and pull it through. Cut about an arms length of thread (approximately 2 feet long) to work with. Tie the two ends of the fishing wires into a knot. You may need to use the needle to help guide the knot close to the end of the thread.

Pulling the Knot Closer To the End Using a Needle

Repeat the steps again for a second knot. Cut of any excess tail left over.

Clear Thread Tied in a Knot