Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 2Choose garment to light up
Some types of clothing are better-suited for EL wire installation than others. It is usually easier to get good results when the stiffness of the wire is similar to the stiffness of the base fabric, and the garment does not stretch or flex too much in the areas where the EL wire is installed.
recommended:
leather, suede, vinyl, various forms of imitation leather
denim, thick cotton/polyester blends, velvet (non-stretch), faux fur
quilted/padded jackets (like a parka)
any medium to heavyweight fabric that does not stretch
not recommended:
lightweight fabrics
stretch fabrics
In most cases, you don't want the EL wire to be significantly stiffer than the fabric, or the wire will dominate the drape of the garment. (one exception would be a ruffled edge on a tutu, for example). Also, if you bend or fold part of the wire when you wear it or store it, it will retain some of the bend in that location when you want to straighten it out. Over time, these areas are more likely to break.
If you are working with a lined piece of clothing, open up the lining by gently snipping the stitches in an inner seam. Open it enough so that you can access all the places where you will put EL wire.
recommended:
leather, suede, vinyl, various forms of imitation leather
denim, thick cotton/polyester blends, velvet (non-stretch), faux fur
quilted/padded jackets (like a parka)
any medium to heavyweight fabric that does not stretch
not recommended:
lightweight fabrics
stretch fabrics
In most cases, you don't want the EL wire to be significantly stiffer than the fabric, or the wire will dominate the drape of the garment. (one exception would be a ruffled edge on a tutu, for example). Also, if you bend or fold part of the wire when you wear it or store it, it will retain some of the bend in that location when you want to straighten it out. Over time, these areas are more likely to break.
If you are working with a lined piece of clothing, open up the lining by gently snipping the stitches in an inner seam. Open it enough so that you can access all the places where you will put EL wire.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
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