LED Conductive Switch Bracelet

Using conductive velcro as a switch, make an illuminated bracelet that switches when the the circuit is closed. The conductive velcro can be switched out with any metal closure such as snaps, jewelry clasps, or a hook-and-eye.

Conductive Velcro (For this tutorial, I have cut this piece in half, lengthwise)

Conductive Thread

LEDS ( I have used up to 10 successfully)

3V Coin Cell Battery

3V Sewable Battery Holder

Regular Thread

Felt

Measure and cut a strip of felt to fit around your wrist, leaving room to accommodate the conductive velcro.

Lay out the velcro. The pieces should lay on either end of the fabric, one will be on the front and one will be on the back so that they will make a nice loop when closed. Attach the conductive velcro via hand sewing or, if you're struggling, with hot glue.

Take the battery holder and sew from the positive terminal to one piece of velcro. The positive terminal is the side that makes an ‘E’ shape.

Make a new line of stitches starting just above the power terminal and stitch across the felt, connecting to the other piece of velcro. Doing this creates a break in the positive side which will close and turn on the circuit when the velcro is connected.

Stitch from the ground, or negative terminal on the battery holder, across the piece of felt, ending just before the other piece of velcro.

You should have two parallel lines of stitches now.

Lay out your 3 LEDs, aligning the positive leg (colored red) with the positive side of stitches.

Stitch down the positive and negative connection for each LED. Make sure to sew the connections several times to guarantee a secure connection. When you have finished stitching all of your LEDs, secure the knots with some nail polish or glue.

Here are some other applications of the same circuit