Introduction: Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth

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About: My Name is Nick and I love making things!! Learning about everything is something I like to do. I have been a carpenter here in Australia for about 10 years but recently have quit my job to do something I l…

This is the lasso of truth to go with wonder woman's costume (Full tutorial here). The method I used here could be adapted for most costume props, which is why I put this into a separate category of it's own. The results looks great, a real eye catcher.

Many people stopped to take photos and it was good to see the happy faces of adults getting their photo taken with Wonder Woman.

Step 1: Things You Will Need

You will need:

Some 3mm braided sleeving

Some clear 8mm heat shrink tubing

Orange EL wire which can be purchased from Adafruit Here Electroluminescent Wire

Some White Knight super gold spray paint

Also you will need scissors, a heat gun or lighter and some small cable ties

Step 2: Gathering Your Wire

Take your full length of EL wire and fold it in half. It pays to straighten the wire with your hands before this.

Once in half, take your clear heat shrink tubing and heat it over the bend at the halfway mark as shown in the first picture above. Next work your way down the wire placing a heat shrink about every 200mm till you reach the end. Place one at the end.

If you haven't heard about EL wire and how to power it or even what it is, watch this video here.

Basically, if you buy a kit, it will come with an inverter which is battery powered. From there it's pretty much plug in and play.

Step 3: Spray Your Braided Sleeving

Next use your super gold paint to spray the black braid a nice gold colour. This will make the lasso look like gold rope in the day. A good tip is to heat up the spray can in some hot water (not boiling) before use and shake for a good 60 seconds. This will ensure an even distribution of the solvent adhesive in the can and help with the flow that comes out.

Step 4: Spray Cable Ties

Spray your cable ties while you have your can out and warm. Only the top 25mm or inch of these will need the paint. When you're finished spraying, invert the can upside down and spray till the paint stops and you only have gas coming out. This will clear the nozzle for future use.

Step 5: Return the Sleeve

Use a pencil or similar to push the end of the sleeve back in on itself as shown above. Braided sleeving has a tendency to unravel itself if handled too much or if it's not hot fused together at the end.

Step 6: Cover the EL Wire

Begin by compressing the braided sleeving so that it opens in diameter to allow the EL wire to fit inside easily. 3mm can probably take a 10mm tube inside if compressed. Keep grabbing the folded tip of the EL wire as you compress the braid and don't worry about what the end is doing till you reach the connector end.

Step 7: Tie the Top

Once the braid reaches the connector wire use a gold cable tie to synch it off here. Fold the new end of your braid inside itself and work it up to connect to the next piece of braid. I had to use two lengths to reach the end of the lasso.

Step 8: Joining the Braided Sleeve

Repeat the steps before in working the braid up the wire till you reach the first lot of braid. At this point I used some more clear heat shrink to prevent this join from moving. Heat it with the lighter and squeeze it into the braid fibres.

Step 9: The End of the Rope

Once you reach the end reverse the braid into itself and use a cable tie to hold it. The result is a gold looking rope with a glowing secret.

Step 10: Belt Hook

I got some moulding hooks from the hardware to use as a nice way of hanging the lasso when not in use. I simply bent them a bit more to hold the lasso better.

Step 11: All Done

Now you're done, go out and wrap it around people and ask them to tell you the truth. They will. They have to.

Make it Glow!

Participated in the
Make it Glow!