Code Your Style: Easy Wearable Projects

During the Girls’ Technology Lab, we created wearable projects that combined hands-on making with imaginative storytelling. The goal was not just to build a tech object, but to live a complete creative experience—from ideation to design, from programming to performance.

A key aspect of this activity is inclusion: it is designed to be accessible to everyone and does not require advanced technical skills or expensive accessories. The projects can be made using simple, recycled, or low-cost materials (such as paper, fabric, cardboard, ribbons, or buttons), allowing anyone to experiment without economic or technological barriers.

Equally important was the girls-only club setting. Creating a space dedicated to girls means offering a safe and motivating environment where they can approach technology free from stereotypes or external pressures. This kind of experience highlights their creative and technical skills, builds self-confidence, and strengthens the awareness that girls, too, can be active leaders in technological innovation.

This activity followed a STEAM approach (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics), encouraging collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Authors

Concept and development: Giada Zerboni e Claudia Morganti

In collaboration with We Do Fablab and Scuola secondaria di primo grado G. Floreanini

Halocode

mBuild Led Strip

mBuild battery module

Laptop

mBlock

Headbands, T-shirts, fabrics

Needle, thread, patafix, safety pins

Halocode is a microcontroller developed by Makeblock and designed to be beginner-friendly. It includes built-in sensors such as a gyroscope, microphone, touch sensor, and RGB LEDs, allowing for many kinds of interactions.

The activity begins with a guided exploration: students observe, experiment, make hypotheses, and discover how the board “senses” and “responds.” It’s a real scientific inquiry, centered on curiosity and hands-on testing.

We also introduce mBuild modules such as the LED Strip, and test different ways to light it up: shaking the Halocode, using a timer, reacting to sound, and more.

Before using final materials, we start with paper to design quick, low-cost prototypes. This phase gives students the freedom to express their ideas without fear of making mistakes.

They can draw characters, objects, imaginary creatures, lamps or accessories. Light becomes part of the visual design. Paper helps test LED placement, dimensions, shapes, and colors.

Once the design is ready, we switch to fabrics. The prototype becomes a real wearable object: bracelets, crowns, t-shirt, hat, and more.

In this phase, students face real construction challenges: How do we attach the Halocode and battery? How do we sew or glue the LEDs? How do we make it comfortable and durable?

They work in groups, share solutions, test, and improve. This stage is essential for building perseverance and teamwork.

Programming is done with the makeblock environment, using block-based coding.

Each student programs her wearable according to the chosen interaction: lights that change color, react to touch or sound, or pulse in a rhythm.

They follow a “debugging” logic: test, observe, fix. Programming becomes an exercise in logic and patience.

The tech object becomes a character or a magical artifact through storytelling. Students imagine a story in which the wearable has a special power, origin, or meaning.

Storytelling connects personal experience with technical creation, reinforcing identity and self-confidence.

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGfiLbqtIo/ULhDC-9KRjj9-CsvfzW6iQ/view?utm_content=DAGfiLbqtIo&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h789b90ce37#4

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGfoU99cCw/Omni96NvyOnmV2bABMqoYw/view?utm_content=DAGfoU99cCw&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hfd0b357092

The workshop ends with a fashion show, where each student presents her wearable and tells the story behind it.

It’s a public sharing moment that celebrates the work done and values each participant. Students learn to speak in front of others, support their own ideas, and appreciate each other’s work.