Recommednation for rainbow LED lights (strip or string) that I can sew on and are reliable?

[samhandwich22]

I normally keep things simple and sew some el wire into my nighttime coats. I have simple tastes and go for safety not fashion. However, I am preparing a gorgeous white fur coat for a friend of mine and she requested I use rainbow colored lights on it, which I dont think exists for el wire.

An endless sea of options on amazon, I need some type of lighting that can be sewed into clothing and is battery powered. Im not seeking anything fancy like options for programing the lights in dozens of display varieties; still lights would be fine although some that danced with ambient music would be cool too!

Can anyone link or suggest me ones that they have used to sew into clothing?

[BBadger]

I would look at some rainbow copper fairy lights, because the wire is relatively bendy, they don't use much power, and they already come with nice battery packs (AA batteries) and even remote controls if you want some control over how they look.

You can even get the ones that plug into USB, and then plug them into those rechargeable USB packs, which I tend to like more than the AA packs.

Look them up on Amazon or other places.

I learned about a nice way to "sew" them or other stuff into garments: use a tagging gun. Get the shorter tagging strips if you want to have a tighter hold.

[samhandwich22]

I would look at some rainbow copper fairy lights, because the wire is relatively bendy, they don't use much power, and they already come with nice battery packs (AA batteries) and even remote controls if you want some control over how they look.

You can even get the ones that plug into USB, and then plug them into those rechargeable USB packs, which I tend to like more than the AA packs.

Look them up on Amazon or other places.

I learned about a nice way to "sew" them or other stuff into garments: use a tagging gun. Get the shorter tagging strips if you want to have a tighter hold.

Thank you! Are the copper wire lights durable enough to withstand dancing and moving around? I've seen this before but I imagine they would break with all of the stress and bends going on them.
A tagging gun is an intriguing idea!

[BBadger]

I don't think the wires will fatigue and break as long as not stretched too much. You could add some slack to the wires to allow for that.

For wires that you need to cross stretch or bend zones (like from sleeves to your torso area) you could use some silicone wire, which is very soft and pliable, but also strong. It might be good for connecting up to battery packs or other stuff for longer power runs.

If you really want wearable electronics, you can check out Adafruit's FLORA platform, which uses sewable conductive thread and electronics designed to be sewn into clothing and such. That may be more than you want to take on though, and the platform is relatively expensive.

I've found copper fairy lights work quite well for my needs and that even if damaged or destroyed, isn't a huge loss.

[RevDusty]

Everything BBadger said. I'll add to watch for friction points like backpack shoulder straps.
I learned the hard way about elbows and knees...