Circuit Playground Express - Headband for Running

Through incorporating the Circuit Playground Express and fabric, the options of what you can create are endless. I decided to make a headband for running or general activity outside that lights up so you can use it in the dark and has an alarm you can press on to draw attention to yourself, if you feel threatened by someone around you.

The first part of this project is to make the headband.

The materials you will need for this are:

- Fabric of your choice (I chose felt)

- any color

- Sewing needle

- Thread

- Scissors

These are the steps to making the headband:

1) Take our your felt and measure the width you want - it should be wide enough to fit a Circuit Playground Express on it (mine was 59 cm wide)

2) Cut out a strip long enough to fit around your head like a headband - I didn't have long enough felt so I made three individual pieces

3) Sew the pieces together - I used a running stitch

This is the second part of the project. The part that makes the headband have the lighting up feature and alarm.

The things you will need for this are:

- Your computer

- Circuit Playground Express

- USB cord

- USB adaptor if you dont have the USB stick on your computer

Here is the step guide for this part (you can also look at the picture above for a visual representation of what to do on the Circuit Playground Express website):

For the light:

1) Open up the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express website on your browser

2) Create a new project

3) Start the coding for the light:

4) Find the block called 'forever' (green) and drag it into the work area

5) Add the block called 'show ring' and drag it into the other block

6) Pick the color you want your lights to be (I chose red)

7) Drag the block that says 'pause ... ms' and drag it under the 'show right' block (still in the forever block)

8) Repeat step 5-7 under what was done before and still in the forever block

For the alarm:

1) Drag 'on ... click' into the work area (not into the coding for the light)

2) On the block, click 'pin A1'

3) Drag 'loop sound ...' into the other block

4) Chose the sound you want as the alarm (I chose siren)

5) Repeat step 10 in another area

6) On the block, click 'pin A2'

7) Drag 'stop sound ...' into the block from step 15

8) Pick the same sound as the one you used in step 13

Getting the coding onto your physical Circuit Playground Express:

1) Plug the USB chord into the computer and the Circuit Playground Express (if you dont have the USB chord on your computer, then this is where you would use the adaptor)

2) Press the reset button once the Cplayboot drive appears

3) Press download on the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express

4) It will give you a file which you should find

5) Follow the instructions provided

6) If you are still struggling, follow this instruction

The final part of the project is to add the CPX, battery back and buttons to the headband.

For this part you will need:

- Battery pack

- CPX

- Two buttons

- Conductible thread

- Thread

- Needle

- The headband you made

Here is the step by step guide:

1) For this you need the coded CPX, conductible thread, two buttons, a needle and your headband

2) Attach the CPX to the battery back

3) Thread the needle with the conductible thread

4) Put the CPX on your desired place on the headband

5) Attach the CPX by threading through pin A1 a few times (until it doesn't move)

6) Stitch a running stitch up until the placement of the buttons you desire (you can see the picture above to see where I put the buttons)

7) Stitch the buttons into place

8) Redo step 4-6 but by pin A2 and place the button next to the one stitched before

9) Put the battery pack on the headband through the hook it has (if yours doesn't have a hook, simply thread around it so it stays in place

10) Make a couple of stitches across the wire of the battery pack (the wire that attaches the CPX to the battery back) so it stays in place and looks more visually pleasing