Introduction: Light-Up Posy Pendant

By Alysia Makes
About: I am an artist, educator, and maker residing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I currently work for the OR Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) as the Senior Educator of our Technology/Maker space - the Des…
This instructable will show you how to make a crocheted flower pendant with a battery-powered LED center. It is a simple, quick project; the only skills it requires are basic crocheting and sewing. 

Materials:
A few yards of yarn
1 x 5mm diffused LED
Small piece of material that doesn't fray (I used scrap leather)
3 x metal head pins or a small length of wire
6" length of conductive thread
chain with clasp
3v button cell battery
regular thread
feathers or other embellishments (optional)

Tools:
needle
hot glue gun 
scissors
needle-nose pliers
small crochet hook (I used size E)

Step 1: Crocheting the Flower

For my flower, I used a simple pattern and a size E hook. This can be varied to modify the finished piece.

Flower Pattern:

Ch 6, sl st into 1st ch to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch 1, work 15 sc into ring, sl st in 1st sc.

Round 2: *Ch 3, work dc2tog over next 2 stitches, ch 3, sl st in next sc*, rep from * to * for a total of 5 times, placing last sl st in sl st from previous round.

Fasten off.


Step 2: Creating the Battery Pouch

I decided to make the design for this pendant as simple as possible; for this reason, there is no switch to turn the light on and off. It uses cheap, readily available coin cell batteries (I have purchased them on eBay at about $1 for a pack of 6). When the battery is in the pouch, the light stays on; remove it to turn the pendant off.

I used scrap leather because I had some laying around, any non-fraying material will do. Fold your material in half, and cut a solid "U" shape. You should have two matching pieces.

Step 3: Prepping the LED and Wire Connection

I used a pink 5mm diffused LED, but any color with a forward voltage around or slightly above 3v will work. This allows you to use a 3v battery without a resistor. Other possible colors are white, blue and orange. Information about LED forward voltage is readily available online.

Start by bending the negative leg of the LED (this is the shorter one) so that it sits at a 90 degree angle against the other (positive) leg. Then, using a needle-nose pliers, curl the end into a spiral.

Next, curl the end of either a metal headpin or a short (1.5") length of wire, so that it looks like the last photo.

Step 4: Attaching LED & Connection to Pouch

To attach the LED, poke the straight (positive) leg through the center of one half of your pouch, as shown in the first picture. Do the same with the straight end of the headpin (second photo). If the material is too strong to simply poke the wires through, make holes with a needle first.

Once the wires are pushed through, use your needle-nose pliers to curl the straight ends into spirals, as shown in the third photo. This will be the inside of your pouch, where the wires touch the battery.

Sew the two halves of the pouch together. Do this with the battery inside, as you need to achieve a snug fit. Leave the top edge open so that the battery may be easily removed and replaced.

Step 5: Making It Light Up!

Tie one end of your conductive thread to the loop you created with the negative leg of your LED. Pulling the thread taut, wrap it under the pouch and tie the other end to the loop you made with the headpin. This should make your LED light up!

Remember: the smooth (positive) side of the battery always faces the front of the pendant.

Step 6: Finishing the Pendant

First, hot glue the crocheted flower to the pouch, centering the LED in the hole. Add any embellishments you like (I chose small pink feathers). Last, attach a chain with curled up headpins (what I used, because I had them) or jump rings.

Your necklace is ready to wear!

Step 7: Wear It!

Now you have your own little light-up flower pendant. If you make one, I'd love to see it. There are lots of possible variations on this design, make it your own!