Inside the Box of the LilyPad Arduino

I'm a maker, so I'm supposed to make things.  Makers try to include technology in the things they make, and I like to sew.  So, hunting in the Maker Shed store, I found the E-Textiles Starter Kit, which consists of a book called Fashioning Technology, an LED Sewing Kit and the LilyPad Beginner's Kit.

I am plunging into a new ocean, and it's a bit intimidating.  I'm trying to find out exactly how hard this new technology is to use because I want to use it.  I think it may be interesting for you to see how someone might approach finding out about and using this new technology.  It's sometimes soothing to know that someone else is intimidated, too!

I received my Maker Shed purchases and opened the box.  Hm.  No list of items, no instructions.  The information is online.  Here's what I found in the box.

LED SEWING KIT

The LED Sewing Kit is basic.  It contains a sewable battery holder, two LEDs, 7 feet of conductive thread, a snap (switch) and a coincell battery.  And a link to instructions.  It looks simple enough, make your picture, figure out where you want lights, sew on LEDs.  Insert battery, it lights up!

FASHIONING TECHNOLOGY

The book, Fashioning Technology, has a fair amount of information on new materials available for working circuits into your sewing.  Conductive thread and yarn, conductive hook and loop (like Velcro), conductive fabric, conductive epoxy, LEDs and more.  Ways to move electricity from one part of your garment to another.

LILYPAD BEGINNER'S KIT

The LilyPad Beginner's Kit contains a few more items, some of which are puzzling, since they are not all labelled.  The contents are described online:  A LilyPad Simple Board, a button switch, a slide switch, a temperature sensor, LEDs, a battery, a connector to plug it into the computer and four small round components which I must presume are the light sensor, the tri-color LED, the buzzer and the vibe board.  All very small, and created with holes for connection of conductive threads, also included in the kit.

Now what?  I'm poking around and find some miscellaneous bits of information relative to eTextiles and the LilyPad:

• The battery can not have a voltage higher than 5.5 V or the board can be destroyed.  The battery must be connected with the right polarity or the board can be destroyed.
• The battery should be placed in close proximity to the board else I'll have power issues.
• The LilyPad is washable, but wash at your own risk. (I wouldn't throw it into the washing machine, and wouldn't wash it more than a few times, if at all).
• The conductive coating on the thread can wear with washing.  Silver polish is supposed to rejuvenate it.
• There's no soldering in soft circuits, the connection points are secured with sewing, knots and glue.
• You don't want to have hanging threads, because they can touch each other accidentally and could cause a short circuit.
• Creative Commons is the licensing under which the hardware is released.  It reads in a similar fashion to the General Protection License (GPL).
• The schematic for the LilyPad simple board.
• The LilyPad Simple Board part description on the Spark Fun website. It has a link to the Arduino software and provides information that it needs version 0010 or higher.  Hey, the board itself is only $20.  (I got a sampling of parts, which is why it cost a bit more.)
• Three beginner projects are of interest to me: The very simple LED sewing project, the simple LED circuit demonstrated in the Make video  turn Signal Biking Jacket .

I have a few thoughts:

• E-Textiles - Is it for boys or for girls?  Is it to encourage the girls to do electronics?  Or is it for encouraging the boys to sew?
• Washability is a cool thought, but I'm not sure if I'd want to wash mine.  I might take the LilyPad off before I wash it.  Also, I wouldn't put it on clothing that I wash every time I wear it.  Perhaps a hat or a jacket or a bag.
• Wouldn't it be nice to have some sort of connector that can accept all of those thread terminal points and clip the LilyPad onto it?
• Hey, I wonder if I can use copper fibers that I extract from old electrical cords instead of conductive thread?  I've
• Which relatives, friends or even mere acquaintances do I have that can help me with these schematics?
• Where is my voltage test thinga-ma-bob?  Oh yeah... it's a multimeter - Where is my multimeter? 

And now, back online to find information on the world wide web.

Trish is very excited about her impending visit to the Bay Area Makerfaire in May.

Trish writes as for Patch and as Handmade Penguin for the Handmade Penguin blog