Light Sensing Masquerade Mask

Dazzle the room at your next masquerade party with a DIY light sensing mask!

*This project uses Arduino software, and the code for the LEDs is assumed to already be programmed into the LilyPad ProtoSnap Plus Board. For help with this or to learn more, check out the websites Sparkfun & Arduino!*

LilyPad Protosnap Plus Kit

Alligator clips

Sewable conductive thread

3.7 V battery

Paper mask

Felt

Hot glue gun

Regular sewing thread

Sewing needle

Scissors

Rhinestones (optional)

Feathers (optional)

Cut out the felt to fit the shape of the mask. Additionally, cut out 4 squares of felt: two squares measuring 2.75" x 2.75" (for the LilyPad Board) and two squares measuring 1.5" x 1.5" (for the light sensing board).

Mark in pencil on the mask where you would like to place your LEDs, then transfer those marks onto the felt using tailor's chalk.

Hot glue the felt onto the nose portion of the mask, leaving the sides free to sew on the LEDs.

Positioning the positive side of the LEDs on the top, connect all of them together with conductive thread using a running stitch. For this particular design, it doesn't matter what the sewing looks like, because it will be covered by another layer of felt!

Then, once they are secure, use a new piece of thread to connect the negative sides together.

(REMEMBER: do not let the positive thread touch the negative thread. This will negate the circuit).

The mask I bought came with one elastic to go around the back of my head, so I decided to hot glue another piece on to add stability for attaching the boards.

Find the midpoint on both pieces of elastic and pin on one of the 2.75" squares of felt (make sure it is pinned underneath the felt so that when you attach the second piece of felt, it will sandwich the elastic). This will act as the backing for the LilyPad board.

Using one piece of conductive thread, attach it to the already sewn thread connected to the positive side of the LEDs. (I did this by looping it around the last stitch I had made on my felt, but make sure there is a solid connection between the two thread pieces so that the LEDs will light up to their full potential). Loosely diagonally stitch along the top piece of elastic, being careful not to pull too tight so that the elastic can still stretch to fit your head. Connect this with the ~6 port (circled in red), sewing it down to the square of felt.

With a new piece of thread, attach it to the already sewn thread connected to the negative side of the LEDs. Loosely diagonally stitch along the bottom piece of elastic. Make sure the threads will not touch each other! Connect this with the - (negative) port (circled in blue).

In the same fashion, you will now need to connect the LilyPad Board to the light sensor board.

*TURN THE LILYPAD BOARD OFF WHILE SEWING*

Using one piece of thread, connect the A2 port (circled in green) on the LilyPad Board to the S port (circled in green) on the light sensor board, sewing along the bottom piece of elastic. As you can see in my picture, I used a basic running stitch, as the elastic had to be shared with another piece of thread.

With a new piece of thread, connect the + port (circled in orange) on the LilyPad Board to the + port (circled in orange) on the light sensor board, sewing along the bottom piece of elastic.

With a new piece of thread, connect the - (negative) port (circled in pink) on the LilyPad Board to the - port (circled in pink) on the light sensor board, sewing along the top piece of elastic.

Now check that everything is connected correctly by turning on the board and trying out the LEDs!

If the lights are dim, try making a stronger connection by looping your thread around the ports more times to ensure lots of contact.

Now that the LilyPad Board is secured to the felt backing, it's time to cover it up.

Take the other 2.75" piece of felt and, using regular thread, whip stitch or blanket stitch around the outer edges. Be sure to leave ~1" opening near the USB port so that you can still charge the battery. Then, create a small slit on the top piece to reach the ON/OFF switch on the board.

Repeat for the light sensor board. Cut out a small rectangle on the top piece of felt so that the sensor can still be exposed to light.

Finally, it's time to decorate!

Specifically for this design, I covered the LEDs with white felt so that the sewing would be covered, but the lights would still be able to shine through. This also gives them a diffused look. Then I used a hot glue gun to attach feathers and rhinestones.

Have fun with your design!