How to make something bigger on the inside, well, look like it...

If you are lucky enough to have a double-wide, or two hanging closet organizers, make it even fancier with a TARDIS topper that lights up with an Adafruit Trinket microcontroller and Neopixel LED strips. I only had a bit of scrap blue material to work with. It seemed to have fell through the time crack from my other projects..

And for anything else that you can't cram into this hanging closet organizer, stuff it in a TARDIS IKEA shopping bag.

Make a place to stow your wearables.

Step 1: Take Your Time...

This was a quick after dinner project just because I had some stuff laying around.

I had these hanging closet organizers "hanging around" for a while. They have 6 compartments each. The fabric walls are stiffened with cardboard inserts. I did not take any photos with the entire organizer extended but you get the idea. I put two hanging closet organizers side by side to give it the right proportional look for a TARDIS.

I also had a replacement wall jar lamp plastic lens. It is similar to the fresnel lens design found on a TARDIS.

I had some blue and black fabric.

I also had gutted the electronics from my crossguard lightsaber and turbolift light. It was an Adafruit Trinket Attiny85 based microcontroller driving various lengths of Neopixel strips.

I used a sewing machine and a serger to work on my sewing tasks.

A bit of fiberfill stuffing was used to diffuse the Neopixel LEDs.

You will also need to create or copy some graphics for a printed TARDIS header sign.

I did not have enough time to complete a set of TARDIS doors but they would be easy to make with a cloth hinges, and material stretched over a dowel or PVC pipe frame or covered Coroplast sheet plastic. You could even put in a Yale lock.

Step 2: A Signpost Up Ahead...

Search for a suitable TARDIS Police Box sign to use or create one in an image editor like Photoshop or GIMP.

Size up and print so that it will fit between the sides of your hanging organizers.

You may have to print a right half and a left half since the complete image will be larger than your paper.

Use a clear packing tape to connect the pieces and laminate all over, front and back, to reinforce the sign.

I then sewed on a fabric border of black. What, you don't run other materials through your sewing machine? I do. That's why I keep on hand a spare pack of replacement sewing machine needles.

To the black fabric border I sewed on a blue border.

You want to create a tube or pocket to fit the Neopixel LED strips in. Sew a back on it.

The laminated paper sign is flexible enough so that you can turn your sign pocket inside out for finished seams.

Step 3: Put a Ring on It...

The Police Box sign placard will hang from the closet pole just like the organizer.

Cut a triangular shape piece of fabric in the silhouette of the sloped roof of the TARDIS.

I had a black fabric stiffener layer and two outer blue fabric layers.

It was sewn as a pocket with a small access opening in order to turn it inside out for hidden seams.

Sew that to the finished Police Box sign placard.

I created another fabric triangular finished piece to use as a stop collar for the lamp housing.

Wrap it around the lens for a snug fit and tack down with sewing. The fabric stretches a bit so you can easily insert and position the lens.

Step 4: Lighten Up...

I had simply reused the Neopixel LED strips out of my previous projects since they were all wired up.

Hot glue on some fabric to cover the top of the TARDIS light. Stuff the Neopixel strips in the lamp housing and the Police Box sign. Tidy up and hide the wiring. Hang from the closet pole. You can add some velcro or use safety pins.

The Adafruit Trinket is still running the Cyberfalls wig code modified slightly for white light.

You can go on Adafruit's learning system to see all the tutorials for using Trinket, Neopixel Strips and getting the code for the Cyberfalls wig.

My Police Box sign was made two sided so I could just flip it around to have another sign.

Oh, the second sign is a reference to one of the wearable and 3D printed projects from Adafruit's Becky Stern.

With a few more components, you can make the Neopixels sound reactive or have sound bites play when triggered by a sensor responding to a person entering the room or to light when the closet door is opened.

Mod the programming for a steadier pulsing light or your choice of color light.

Enjoy!