How to Make a Tote Bag With Circuit Playground Express Light

This tutorial will teach you how to sew a tote bag, how to code an external Neopixel using a cpx and block code on adafruit and learn some basic embroidery skills. This project uses an external Neopixel to create a light within the bag that you can turn on and off with buttons so that you can see inside your bag.

Supplies

Tote bag

fabric - two 10 by 70 cm panels for the straps
fabric - two 40 by 40 cm panels for the body
sewing machine (can be done by hand but this tutorial uses a sewing machine)
fabric scissors
safety pin
sewing pins

Code:

Circuit Playground Express (CPX)
battery pack + three AAA batteries
wires to connect to laptop???
conductive thread
neopixel
sewing needle
piece of felt fabric

Decorate:

coloured embroidery thread (5-7 colours)
fabric chalk pencil
sewing needle

Step 1: Cutting Fabric

I started by measuring a few of my own tote bags to find an estimate of what the measurements should be, but you can just use the ones I came up with in the end. After coming up with measurements I drew them out onto kraft paper to create a pattern to trace onto the fabric. I drew and cut out one 40cm by 40cm panel for the body and one 10cm by 70cm panel for the straps

Then I used the pattern to trace out all of my pieces onto my fabric and using my pattern I cut out :

two 40cm * 40cm panels
two 7cm * 70cm panels

While I just used fabric cutters and a meter stick to trace and cut out the materials, if you want straighter edges I recommend using a rotary cutter and acrylic rulers.

If you want to add a lining to your bag, you can do so by cutting out two more body panels (40*40) and using the tutorial attached to help with the assembly.

Step 2: Sewing Body

Start by laying the body pieces together, matching up all the raw edges. if you have a particular side of the fabric that you want on the outside of the bag, then insure that they are facing inwards for this part (right sides together).

In order to keep the layers from moving apart while sewing, hold them in place using sewing pins.

Sew along three sides of the squared panels using the sewing machine with a half inch seam allowance. Make sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam you sew in order to avoid unravelling.

you can box your bag if you would like but I chose not to.

Once my body was complete I flipped it back inside out and folded the top edge of the back over and sewed along it in order to have nice edges.

Step 3: Sewing Straps

take one of your 7 * 70 cm panels and fold in half. use sewing pins to keep it in place. sew along the raw edge of the fabric the entire way down the side.

Now you need to flip it inside out to create a tube-like strip. To do this, attach a safety pin to one of the sides and push the safety pin into the tube of the fabric. keep pushing it through and pulling back the excess fabric until the safety pin reaches the other end of the tube, pull it out fully and your tube will be flipped inside out, hiding your raw edges and seam. The video attached explains this process pretty clearly.

repeat this process for the second strap.

Step 4: Attaching the Straps

The final step of making the tote bag is attaching the straps to the body of the bag.

First make sure the bag is inside out again. Then I started by placing the straps where I wanted them to be, making sure that they were equal distances from the edge. For my bag I placed them about 6 cm from the edge and 5 cm down from the rim of the bag. I sewed them on by sewing a box like shape on the bottom of the straps where they meet the base of the bag. If you want the bag to be able to hold more weight, I recommend going over your stitches one or two more times to make it extra secure.

Step 5: CPX

To make the code I started by creating a new strip with one pixel (which will be my external neopixel) copy the code in the attached photo to create a light that can turn on by pressing the A button and off by pressing the B

Upload the code to a CPX and plug in a battery pack so that it can work without being plugged into a laptop.

once i had the code I planned out my circuit for my bag I began to sew it on a piece of felt which I will later attach to the inside of my bag. I sewed it on a separate piece of fabric so that it would be easier to fix any errors in my circuit or code.

before sewing everything on I first tested my code using alligator clips to connect the cpx and neopixel. then I sewed the cpx onto the felt and created the circuit using conductive thread. make sure the thread does not overlap. your stitches do not have to look perfect since it will not be visible, but they should be neat. do not forget to check that the threads don't overlap at the back as-well.

make sure that whatever outlet you put in your code, in this case A6, is connected directly to the (outlet?) with an arrow on the neopixel. make sure the arrow is facing away from your cpx / starting point of thread. then connect the outlet with 3.3V above it on the CPX to the positive (one with + above it) outlet on the neopixel. Connect the outlet with GND on the CPX to the negative (-) outlet on the neopixel.

attach circuit to inside of bag

How to Make a Tote Bag With Circuit Playground Express Light - Step #5
Download

Step 6: Embroidery

After picking a pattern you can sketch it onto your fabric. I used a separate piece of my original fabric so that i could embroider easier and then sew onto the bag afterwards, but you can sketch the design directly onto the bag and it will work.

To start, I found a quick reference photo online and drew out a rough outline onto my fabric.

Then I embroidered the design using different types of stitches like:

fishbone and french knot for the flowers
lazy daisy, fishbone, russian chain, woven wheel and french knot for the leaves
stem stitch, split stitch and back stitch for the body

for this step I recommend watching a couple tutorials for basic stitches and then just experimenting and having fun with the shapes and patterns. if you want to stick simple, you can't go wrong with satin stitch and running stitch.

If you used a separate piece of fabric to do the embroidery, you can turn it into a pocket on the outside of your tote bag by only sewing three of the sides to the bag and leaving the top side open.