CPX Board Dog Harness

This is a fun project to make if you have a pet and want to play around with your CPX (Circuit playground express). Onto it you can program anything you like, or you can follow what I did for a bit of inspiration. In this intractable you will not only learn how to make a programme, but also how to make the harness itself, which you can decorate in anyway you like, and make your dog fashionable!

What you will need for this project:

- A CPX board

- A computer

- A pet (preferably a dog)

- a tape measure (recommended)

- Fabric that your dog likes and is sturdy (quite a bit, depending on the size of your dog)

- scissors

- needle, thread and persistence, or sewing machine.

When you make all your supplies you will have to measure your dog. You will need three measurements. firstly, measure the distance between your dogs neck and mid back, as you can see in the drawing above. Note this down, this is measurement b. Then measure the circumference of your dogs chest at the widest part, this is measurement a. The third measurement is from the highest part of the chest to mid chest. This is part d.

Your goal is what is seen above in the picture. Take your fabric and cut out the length of part a) and add 5 cm, and the width of around 12 cm (add or subtract depending on the size of your dog). You will need two identical pieces. Secondly, measure and cut the measurement b with an additional 5 cm with the width of of 18cm (again, adjust according to the size of your dog). Now cut and measure part d, your measured length and about half of that in width. Now add two additional squares, about 5x5cm each.

Part a

Fold part a down the middle and sew along the edge, then turn inside out so your stitching cannot be seen, making it into a long tube. Do this for both pieces.

Part b

sew along two of the sides, then turn inside out. Sew remaining side. It should be a closed pocket.

Part d

Leave this be for now

Sew the two pieces of the squares you made onto the green closed pocket.

Sew down two sides of part d onto part a, stitching opposite to each other. On the picture you can see where you should place your stitches.

When you have done this, take both of part a, and attach them together to make a long snake. Thread part a through the squares, and when you have done this, stitch them together to make a closed circuit, as shown above.

For part d you will need two or three buttons ( depending on the size of your dog), a thread and needle, and scissors. Make two or three holes on the length of part d, and directly opposite them sew in the same amount of buttons. You should be able to put the buttons into the holes. If wanted, for additional security, you could sew around the holes to avoid the fabric from falling apart. this is an individual part of the harness, which you will use for attaching the harness to your dog.

You can use the top yellow part of the harness to attach the CPX board with its battery. but firstly, you need to make sure that your dog can handle the extra weight. Only let your dog wear the harness if you are around, because if they don't like it and want to take it off, they can be a danger to them selves.

For the CPX board, the best thing is to do is to experiment yourself. If you are stuck, I would recommend searching up different codes.

Some examples of what I did:

A temperature sensor - your dog tells you if you should bring an extra layer.

A motion sensor - if your dog is running away it beeps (however i had some difficulties with this, as it was not fully consistent)

A button on the harness that makes a sound - great for teaching your dog new tricks

A consistent LED light - great for finding your dog in the dark.

A pretty rainbow light - it just looks good, and makes your dog look fashionable