how to add EL wire to a coat or other garment

As a lighted costume designer, I get a lot of questions from people who want to know how to make their own EL wire costumes. I don't have time to help everyone individually, so I thought I'd consolidate my advice into one instructable. Hopefully this will help you understand the steps involved in this labor-intensive process, and get you started with your own lighted clothing projects.

Rather than describe how to make a single specific design, I am trying to make these instructions fairly general so you can create your own EL wire layout for almost any type of clothing, although many of my example photos refer to lighted coats. Also, since EL wire is very fragile in situations where it is flexed repeatedly, a lot of these tips will focus on methods for improving durability and getting the longest possible life out of the garment.

UPDATE: I never intended this to be a tutorial for copying other people's work, but it seems that some clarification might be useful. It's great to be inspired, but I'd like to encourage this community to take things a step further and use these techniques to create their own original designs.

Step 1 List of materials

piece of clothing to light up (see guidelines in that step)

sewing supplies:
needle, clear thread, scissors

EL wire (can be a single color or a mix of colors)
EL wire driver/inverter matched to the total length of glowing wire used in the design
battery holder and switch (if not included with driver)

If you are soldering:
soldering iron
solder
wire strippers
wire cutters
heat-shrink tubing, heat gun

optional:
glue, pins, clamps

Comments

[happybuilder]

where can you get EL wire for around $.50 per foot or cheaper?
please send links thx.

[transparency]

9.8 Feet for 5 bucks (60cent shipping) assorted colors, best deal I've seen around yet---------------------------> http://stores.ebay.com/xiao2huan/_i.html?_nkw=el+wire&submit=Search&_sid=242004751

[ZeshanAli]

I'm trying to make a jacket with around 200 ft of 3 different colors of el wire and I was wondering what kind of driver or sequencer you used on your leather motorcycle jacket with el wires? I'm trying to make the wires on the jacket have a similar chasing effect as yours did. And would it be possible to find a sound activated driver for around that that length as well? Thanks =]

[enlighted]

I used my own custom sequencer for that pattern. I don't sell my sequencers or other EL supplies - it would be best to direct these questions to an EL dealer (there are many listed in the comments on this site).

[chekoalonso]

I find it very interesting and I like to make the costumes but not to buy the cable EL, can you tell me where I can get the materials? or some other name to be known?

[zozoyencken]

What happens when it rains?

[cheesemarathon]

Should be fine as long as connections are sound and protected as wire is coated with coloured plastic to give the colour to the light.

[zozoyencken]

thanks.

[Neon30341]

https://picasaweb.google.com/103871417315764632452/TronCostumes?authuser=0&feat=directlink

[Eddy Dean]

Looks great, BUT, can this be washed?

[jfarron]

I want to do a "daft bodies" thing for a school function...would it be possible to use EL wire to write words on different places on the jacket and pants? Thank you for your time!

[fredmila]

I have measured voltages of up to 125V on the contacts of the EL wire. I guess this is the reason why I have not seen any garments made with this stuff by large and/or reputable clothes manufacturers. Maybe manufacturers from China yes, as over there safety is just a nicety.

[riomotley]

i have never worked with this before, is it difficult to work with as a begginer?

[nazculi]

If you know the basics of soldering and can work with the small wires, it's not too bad. Tip: use wire strippers.

[tigr87]

could i use this on a hoodie.also could you use this on a suit coat or tux.btw nice tutorial

[poncedj]

no se como bajar el pdf que rollo esta muy bueno pero xq complican todo

[furrysalamander]

google translate says that this means: not how we roll down the pdf is very good but xq complicate any
That doesn't sound right.

[romanovik]

He tried to say : I don't know how to download the PDF file, It's good but why you comlicate things.

Reffering to the unposibility of downloading the file (I assume)

[furrysalamander]

thank you for the clarification

[jmartin9]

Does anyone know a fiber optics designer/technician in the Philadelphia area who might be able to work on a fashion show projected for 4/8?

[efarrow]

Hey!
This tutorial is great and I plan to do a lot with it, but i was wondering how it would fare as a pattern on the front of a corset. I just wonder how that would work, with the boning and the not as stiff bits

[criggs-1]

This is really cool, but how do you connect the wires to the battery pack? And where would a good place to find a cheap one be?

Any help would be much appreciated :)

[Sylar521]

Do you know how to sew in EL wire around joints like Knees, Elbows, etc? My friend and I are making Tron Legacy costumes, and we're using your guide, but we need to know if/how we can work EL Wire around joints in a costume into a single driver. Like, can you strip down the EL Wire and solder the copper core to just a regular wire that can bend, and solder the other end into more EL Wire? Thanks a ton!

[enlighted]

Yes, you can use connecting wires to make durable/flexible junctions between the sections of EL wire - however you will need two conductors, one joined to the center copper core, and another joined to the hair wires (with proper insulation, etc).
Another option is to put really long lead wires on multiple pieces of EL, and run all of these pairs to the driver, and then splice them together there.

[bighamms]

hello enlighted....quick question. I would like to build an EL suit for my son ( PROM attire). So a few questions. Best places to purchase the EL (ebay??) Approx how much would be needed to cover the body (i realize this is subjective as there are many body types and designs... but what would be a solid length to start with?) Does the wire just connect end to end like rope light?

Thanks in advance for being super swell

rob

[seaicmac]

Hey Enlighted!
Super tutorial! : D
I have a slight follow up from Sylar's question:
If you intersperse sections of EL and standard conductive wire, will that effect the type of driver you need to use?
E.g.- If I am running a total of 8 feet of EL wire (in 1 feet pieces), with 10 feet of standard conductive wire connecting those EL pieces- would I need to use a driver for 18 feet, or would one for 8 feet do?
Basically- does the driver required depend only on the length of EL wire, or is it dependent on the entire length of the system (EL and non-EL wire)?

Again, fantastic tutorial! Many thanks again : )

[enlighted]

The length of non-glowing connecting wire does not count when you're calculating the driver size that is needed.

[seaicmac]

Many thanks :)

[Tarzi]

Do you think Jeans is ok for doing this costume???

[thatsgenius]

OMIGOSH!! i could use this stuff to make a tron legacy suit!!!

[paperclip32]

This is how they made the suits in the movie.

[weeward1]

Hi, does anyone know what type of fabric is used for diffusing the light? Would appreciate any help.

[rocketman217]

Hi, does this need a driver or can just a battery be added?
cheers

[ampeyro]

EL wire is cool, but i can't wait to see the oLED pieces that will (probably) be in shops in 2012

[joemonkey]

im using a sound sensitive transformer for a car, and i wired everything up and the transformer will not turn on, could it be defective?

[4ng3l]

When I saw the picture for this project I instantly thought of Family Force 5...hahaha

[NostalgicStone]

This is simply amazing.
I see a whole new era of outrageous (and awesome) clothing styles on the horizon :D

[emihackr97]

same, need some El Wire Manufacturers in Mexico. PLZ

[thepelton]

Neat! I wanna make something with this stuff!

[ilovetea]

In that first picture of the jacket, are those single EL Wires? How did you do the spacing, with black tape? or something like this with multiple ends? Thanks