Sew a Soft Circuit Touch Sensor

Let us sew a circuit that responds to touch.

This tutorial shows how to make a Soft Circuit Touch Sensor.
When pressure is applied to the sensor an LED lights up due to the variable "touch" pressure.

level: beginner. You will need basic sewing skills, and will learn basic electronic circuit.


MATERIALS

fabric base. new, used, or fused recycled plastic fabric from our technique on Instructables !

conductive fabric. copper taffeta from Less EMF

conductive thread. Less EMF

foam. recycled from packing materials
 
embroidery thread. Thread Art

3v coin cell battery.  DigiKey

battery holder. Digikey

LEDs. Super Bright LEDs or Radio Shack is good for local pick up in the US


TOOLS

sewing needle

needle nose pliers

scissors

and

a finger to press the sensor !

Step 1 Basic Circuit pattern

Here is a sketch of a basic circuit [left]
and the sketch of the pattern we will make [right].

The touch sensor will be the "switch" of our circuit.
When you touch it, the LED will turn on.

Let's begin !