LED Animated Glowing Rapunzel Hair

 by cubeberg
Here's a quick video of what the wig looks like in the dark:



I couldn't let one daughter wear a light-up Tron costume for Halloween and not do something for my other daughter. She wanted to be Rapunzel for Halloween.

I used the same circuit as my Tron Disc - the one using the ATTiny45 - please refer to that Instructable for wiring, etc.

Hot Glue was used to hold LEDs in place in the hair - once wired & tested.

A pen with the insides pulled out was used to help run wires through hair. Push pen into hair - feed wires into pen - pull pen out.

Two LEDs were placed at the end of the hair and then one for each braid. The remaining LEDs were placed in the head section.

For the LEDs in the head area - I twisted the leads into a circle, soldered and then sewed into the netting. Make sure to leave plenty of extra wire here! I didn't and it made the net less flexible.

Power was supplied by a re-used 5v Solar Battery. I used a Scoche Solbat II, but any power supply between 4 and 5.5v will work (such as 3xAA batteries).

I've attached the code in case anyone wants it. It also includes a great function I found for a simple random-number generator for the ATTiny.

Tools & Supplies
  • Rapunzel Wig (This version is sold @ Disney parks, Downtown Disney or on eBay - I swear they were for sale on the Disney website at one point)
  • 30AWG wire
  • Max7221
  • ATTiny45 and programmer
  • Perf Board
  • Hot Glue & Glue Gun
  • Thread
  • Extra USB cord
  • USB Battery
mikegalloway says: Nov 8, 2011. 1:25 PM
Looks great =). You get my vote.
cubeberg (author) in reply to mikegallowayNov 8, 2011. 1:35 PM
Thanks!
fluffydragon says: Jul 6, 2012. 6:44 PM
Best. Dad. Ever. Seriously.

I'm looking for ways to light cloth and found this. I may use this if I ever do a Rapunzel costume myself. This is just really awesome.
xxev75 says: Jan 8, 2012. 7:36 PM
Great job on both costumes

afcron says: Jan 4, 2012. 1:39 PM
dang you got lucky children!
EaglesNest says: Nov 6, 2011. 7:43 PM
The final look is awesome! What a great costume.
cubeberg (author) in reply to EaglesNestNov 7, 2011. 5:58 AM
Thanks! I thought it came out really well. This one got a LOT of comments on Halloween.
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