GlowStitch LEDs are among the easiest and most versatile ways for you to add light to your project, be it a wearable-tech design, an arts-and-crafts masterpiece, or anything else that would benefit from glowing electronics (which we must assume…is most things).

GlowStitch LEDs are flexible, paintable, machine sewable, hand sewable, and colorful. Perfect for hobbyists, makers, cosplayers, and teachers, they are the ultimate all-in-one crafting product for soft circuits, paper circuits, and so much more. Best of all, to get started with GlowStitch LEDs, you won’t need anything more than what comes in the box.

Hassle-Free LED Magic

GlowStitch LEDs require no coding and no soldering—just some conductive tape, a battery holder, and the GlowStitch strips themselves. They get you to the fun part as quickly as possible by removing several of the most complex and frustrating aspects of working with (or learning about) electronics. And our colorful instructions and sample project sheets make getting started easy!

Out of the box, GlowStitch LEDs will cycle through a rainbow pattern, which makes them quick and easy to use. You can run up to four of them in a parallel circuit. (Any more than that, and your circuit will slowly shift toward low-voltage colors like red, orange, and green. The more LEDs you add, the dimmer they will become and the faster your battery will drain.) Of course, you can also treat them like any other non-addressable LEDs and write code to switch them on and off.

GlowStitch LEDs run on 3-V power but accommodate up to 6-V power if you need more LEDs, brighter LEDs, or both. Each order ships with a 3-V battery holder to help you get started quickly and easily.

Why Machine Sewable LEDs?

Historically, if you wanted to add LEDs to clothing or soft circuits, you were stuck hand sewing with conductive thread, which is time consuming—even for professionals—and tricky to teach in schools. The sewing-machine compatibility of GlowStitch LEDs brings wearable technology into the modern era. Prototype your design with conductive-fabric tape, then quickly finalize your project with a sewing machine.

From Bags to Crowns to Cosplay to Education

With GlowStitch, you can add LEDs to any project you might make with a sewing machine. Imagine a dazzling bag that glows when you close its snap fastener or a sparkling crown that lights up when clipped together at the back. We’ve created clear and easy-to-use project sheets, like the one shown below, to help you follow along and to inspire your own designs. And we’ve even put together a GlowStitch project showcase to help inspire you.

Other project examples might include LED-lit paintings, cosplay outfits, stage props, paper circuits, origami creations, scrapbooks, and seasonal decorations, among many other possibilities. GlowStitch LEDs also make it easy to bring versatile STEAM-based lesson plans into the classroom.

Fireflies and Rocket Ships and Rainbows Oh My!

GlowStitch LEDs and the circuits you make with them can be painted over and incorporated into artwork with real light-up fireflies, rocket ships, lanterns, cities, and rainbows. The only limit is your imagination!

Features

• Machine Sewable: A powerful new way to add lights to clothing, these strips make wearable technology easy. No hand sewing or conductive thread required
• Easy to Use: All you need to do is stick your strips down with conductive tape and add power with a battery holder
• No Soldering Required: While you can use a soldering iron to work with our LED strips and our conductive tape...you don’t have to
• No Coding Required: See results without writing code. These LED strips are non-addressable, and the rainbow ones use color-cycling LEDs with built in patterns (though you can still write code to switch them on and off)
• Craftable: Paint over your circuit and add lights to crafting projects in creative ways. Experiment with light diffusion using semi-transparent materials like cotton wool, cellophane, buttons, fabrics, fake gems, and much more!
• Great For STEAM Education: An easy way to teach electronics in the context of arts and crafts, making STEAM education a breeze. Examples and printable project sheets will be available to help you get inspired.

Technical Specifications

• Polymide flexible circuit boards
• 30 mm x 6 mm. Tabs are 8 mm in length and compatible with 8-mm conductive fabric tape
• Individual LEDs are 0807 size, about half the size of a grain of rice
• White and color-cycling versions will be available
• Five-LED and single-LED versions will be available
• Runs on 3-V to 6-V power

Open Source Everything!

We are enthusiastic about open source. You can find all the open source files, documentation and info for GlowStitch LEDs in our GitHub repo. You can find several project examples on the GlowStitch project showcase page. This project is documented on Hackaday and is also officially OSHWA certified. Thanks to PCBWay for their sponsorship of Flex PCB prototypes. Their fast turnaround and high quality helped the prototyping phase go smoothly.

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