Light for life: Glowing button cycling jacket

Step 5 Make your own shining bright buttons

The standard 3mm LEDs come equipped with an epoxy lens to direct the light in one way. With some sandpaper, rub down the lens, so you are left with only the metal core. Caution! if you look closely, you will se that there is a small metal wire right above the light source, do not rub this away! At a local store I found some simple semitransparent buttons, 14 for the lights and 2 for the pushbuttons. Using a mounted or handheld powertool, make a small hole where it makes most sense to place the LED. My hole measures 6mm in diameter, 2mm deep. I have placed the hole below the button-holes. Bending the legs on the LED so they are pointing in the same direction as the light, the legs are put where the button-holes are. To make it look better, cut two small grooves from the LED hole to the button-holes, one for each leg. The reason for this is that you will later sew the buttons to the jacket with conductive thread. The conductive thread will connect with the led LED legs, + and -, and make them shine!
Remember: on normal LED lights, the longest leg is +. place all the LEDs the same way, and it will be easier for you!