Beginner Tips for DIY Wearable Tech

Here’s a guide I’ve been meaning to make for a while– consider it your jumping-off point if you want to get started making your own wearable tech. I’ve published dozens of DIY wearables projects over the years, from LED costumes to Internet-connected sensor jewelry. Here are my best tips for beginners, including answers to common questions.

The first thing you need to get started is an idea. Think about solving a problem or enhancing an experience, either for yourself or someone you know. Maybe there’s a costume or cosplay you’ve always wanted to wear.

The second thing you need is the curiosity, drive, and resourcefulness to learn the skills needed for your idea which you do not already possess. I’m hoping this guide will help with some of that.

The final thing you need is some motivation to start and/or finish your project, which may come from within, or maybe an event or contest.

It’s important to evaluate your skill level and bite off an appropriate amount of new material to chew on, so as to not get too frustrated to finish your project. Work smarter, not harder. Readymade battery-powered fairy lights, LED strips, and EL wire are perfectly acceptable materials, especially if you’re not ready to take on microcontroller programming or soldering.

Watch the video that goes with this article to get inspired and learn more.

This video is sponsored by Autodesk and promotes the Make it Wearable Engineering Student Contest, for which I am a guest judge.

You don’t need to be an engineer or fashion designer to join the contest, just an actively enrolled high school or college-level student ready to bring your curiosity and imagination and document your build on Instructables for a chance to win one of the 30 cash prizes available. And there are special judges' prizes for sustainability, 3D printing, and projects that use Autodesk software. Here’s your motivation to finally build that idea you’ve had, or finish up the documentation on a project that’s already in progress. Even if you’re reading after this particular contest has passed, there’s always another student engineering contest to look forward to, and the other contests usually have special judges prizes specifically for students too. Check out the Make it Wearable Engineering Student Contest page for the full contest details and rules.

You don't have to learn to solder or code to make wearables, but something you should most definitely learn right away is how to sew by hand. The most useful thing is a tack stitch, which can be used in strategic places to secure your components to your garment or other soft material. A good beginner resource for hand-sewing is Jessy's free Hand Sewing Instructables class, and my plush toy guide.

If you are ready to learn some basic electronics, I have a whole video series that introduces you to everything you need to know to build your own wearable electronics projects. But I’m not the only one! There are several free electronics classes on Instructables too, and just tons more free and excellent resources online than there used to be-- Tinkercad Circuits is another great example. I recommend learning to solder at least, which opens up a lot of possibilities, then also microcontroller programming which opens up even more.

My favorite recipe for LED wearables is a Gemma M0 microcontroller, some NeoPixels, and a small battery pack. It’s what my students use every year for their Halloween costumes, and works out great.

Here’s where I have to insert a warning about conductive textiles. If you already know how to sew, it can be tempting to use conductive thread as your first foray into electronics, but it’s not actually easier than using wire, and it introduces some problems that wire doesn’t have. Conductive textiles are novel for certain applications, such as the plush game controller I made in 2013, but they do not replace traditional insulated wiring when it comes to power delivery and signal reliability.

For example, I made a zipper switch using conductive thread and a metal zipper pull. As it passes by the two embroidered pads, it closes the circuit between them. I put one of these on my old TV-B-Gone Hoodie project so that I could stealthily turn off TVs at restaurants and bars. But the rest of the circuit uses traditional insulated wires, tack-stitched in place inside the garment. Learning to solder is easier than it looks, and small-gauge stranded silicone-coated wire is super flexible.

More resources:

1. 10 Tips for Conductive Thread
2. How To Sew NeoPixels with Conductive Thread
3. Zipper Switch with Conductive Thread
4. Zodiac Embroidery

Let’s talk about power. Wearables are almost always battery-powered, and lower voltages are easier to battery power. For example, here’s how many AA batteries you need to make a 4.5V pack (3). And here’s how many you’d need to make a 12V pack (8). So if you’re wiring up your own circuit, I recommend checking the voltage on your product before you buy it. These days, you can get a USB power bank in a variety of sizes, and those are all 5V.

There’s some simple math for calculating the current draw of your circuit, which can tell you how big of a battery capacity you need. For most circuits, just look up the maximum current draw for each component, and add them together. Then pick a battery that matches or exceeds that number but in mAh. A 1.5v rechargeable AAA battery that stores 750 milliamp-hours can theoretically output 750 milliamps for an hour, or half as much current for twice as long. If you have three in a battery pack, it can give you three times the voltage, 4.5V, at the same 750milliamp-hours.

Rechargeable lithium batteries pack a lot of power for their size, but they are a bit dangerous to work with, so I don’t recommend them to beginners. I know, I’m such a buzzkill– I’m anti-conductive textiles, now anti-lithium batteries? I won’t let you have any fun. From my point of view, there needs to be a good reason to put nonrenewable resources into our hobby projects. It shouldn’t be the default. For most wearables projects, a 3xAAA alkaline battery pack is the perfect size. But it’s useful to know that lithium batteries come in almost every size imaginable, and you can always swap out your project’s battery later if you need to. Read more in my dedicated guide to battery powering wearables.

The next tip is to make sure you have proper strain relief on any wires or delicate components in your project. Think about the physical forces your project will encounter. Repeated bending of wires can apply stress to the solder joint, so you should relieve that stress by leaving extra wire slack, stitching components and wires near the solder joints so they don’t pull apart, using heat shrink tubing, hot glue, or both.

Stranded wire is more flexible than solid wire, which helps it stand up to more repeated bending. So when you want a wire to stay stiff, use solid wire. When you want it to be flexible, use stranded wire.

It’s a common misconception that all circuits are ruined if they get wet. Most components and circuit boards can survive getting wet, as long as they were powered off at the time and they dry out again before powering back on. So you can wash your wearables projects, just take the battery out first and be gentle. I made a whole video about this a million years ago, where I put some of my wearables projects in the washer and dryer to prove they still worked. Hand-washing is better because there’s much less agitation to potentially break your circuit. Certain components that can fill with water, like microphones, shouldn’t get wet at all. But usually, it’s not the water that causes problems, but shorted circuitry thanks to the water being slightly conductive. If there’s no current traveling through the circuit when it gets wet, then no charge will flow when nearby traces are shorted by the water.

My next tip is to get creative with your LED diffusion. Bare LEDs on wearables look a little harsh in my opinion, so it’s nice to use something to shape the light. Lightweight diffusion can be made from fabric, paper, thin plastic, and 3D printing in flexible materials, just to name a few. I made a whole guide on this topic recently if you want to learn more.

The last and best tip I can offer is to document your work and share it with others. The online maker community is a vibrant place thanks to the enthusiastic people who participate. Future you will thank you for writing down all the details that are easy to forget later, too. Plus it’s good for your portfolio since it’s a nice showcase of your cross-disciplinary skills, who knows, it could help you get your next job. Here are more resources on writing great documentation:

1. 5 Tips for Documenting DIY Projects
2. How to Write a Great Instructable

And don’t forget the prizes you can win by entering your project in a contest such as those hosted here on Instructables, particularly the Make it Wearable Engineering Student Contest.

If you have more questions, I’ll answer them in the comments. Thanks for reading!!