Attaching EL wire to clothing

Timezone LaFontaine · Post by **Timezone LaFontaine** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:03 pm

Hi all! I had a lot of fun sewing some 10' strands of EL wire into some customized pants this past year. I got some drivers with built-in microphones so I could adjust them to light up in time with music, or just the swishing of my pants legs as I walked. They turned out well, but I am wondering what techniques people have come up with to make the EL wire a bit more easily removed and re-attached. I just sewed spiraling loops around it with thin thread every few inches. But I'd like to be able to periodically remove the EL wire, wash the pants and then re-attach the EL wire. I think my thin thread will be completely impractical and frustrating to try and feed all that wire through. Has anyone come up with better techniques?

phil · Post by **phil** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:22 pm

Louise used velcro:
http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Pants/

Read the comments below the article for link to jumpsuit with the same idea.

OOPS: Note that this is LEDs - I just realized you're saying EL wire. Sorry, I'm not awake yet. Is there any way to sew EL to velcro, now that I'm reading what you actually wrote? Attach the velcro to the clothing. That means you can peel the EL wire off the fabric for cleaning, storage, etc.

Timezone LaFontaine · Post by **Timezone LaFontaine** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:50 pm

Yeah, that's a great idea! I could just sew into the velcro the same way I sewed into the pants.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 4:13 pm

If you're only washing the pants once a year (when you get back from BM) just wash it on gentle with the EL still attached. Hopefully you sealed the connections reasonably well. The wire itself can handle it just fine - the only worry is corrosion at the connectors. And of course you should remove the drivers and battery cages.

sun4all · Post by **sun4all** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:08 pm

Nice LED pants, Phil!

As far as washing clothing that has EL wire attached to it, you CAN wash it with the EL wire still attached as Dork points out. Your best bet is to soak the pants in a large tub with water and detergent. You'll have to soak them again in a tub filled with clean water (several times) to get all the soap out. You can then dry the pants flat. The idea is to make sure not to sharply bend the EL wire or crush it. I'd probably avoid sticking the pants in a washing machine unless you know that the gentle cycle is really gentle :)

Also, you can ensure that your electrical connections to the EL wire are sealed by using Liquid Electrical Tape. I use this stuff on connections that may become wet and/or exposed to playa dust.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 3:25 pm

I use the double-wall heat shrink tubing to seal my connections-- the kind that is lined on the inside with adhesive. When you shrink it, the glue seals it for many a year to come. You can get the same results by cutting a sliver of hot glue from a glue gun and sliding it in to regular heat shrink tubing before you seal it.

As for washing el wire: don't. The PVC coating can leak to the core, depending on how you do it. Also remember that's a solid copper wire at the core, not stranded, so it does not like to be bent back and forth too much. For connecting at your joints and places on your body that bend back and forth (oh behave!), try a bridge made out of coiled telephone receiver cord. Worked great on Mantis: www.MantisPuppet.com