There are varieties of stretch sensors with different forms on market. Above is the conductive rubber stretch sensor, which is one of the most common and cheapest ones you could get. It usually comes with two metal clips on both ends, which is I find really hard to use when you are integrating the sensor to wearable prototypes. Also, the thin cylindrical shape of the sensor also causes a lot of trouble during prototyping. It’s hard to attach it to fabrics. Also, it usually falls when it’s stretched, so I came up with a quick and easy solution to improve the rubber stretch sensor.

Step 1: Materials

Below are the materials you need:

Stretch sensor

Needle

Thread

Flexible fabric

Stapler

Scissor

Gloves (your project)

Step 2: Demo

Step 1:

First, cut off a piece of fabric and stretch sensor with the length you want.

Step 2:

Sew the stretch sensor on to the fabric (loosely, not too tight). So now, the thread works as a guide to keep the stretch sensor from moving around.

Step 3:

Since the piece of fabric you just sewed is also stretchable, you can stretch it with the stretch sensor. Then, you can sew the fabric on to your project.

Step 4:

Staple twice to fix both ends of the stretch sensor on to your project.

Step 5.

Finally, It’s now attached to your project stably. You can now use either conductive fabrics or conductive threads to connect both ends of the stretch sensor.