Create your own bespoke glowing NeoPixel corset and smile to yourself as all the heads in the room turn to follow you. Line your perfect silhouette with 500 programmable lights that show you off like a fairy disco queen. What could be more alluring?

This project requires careful crafting, some tricky soldering, a little sewing, and a bit of patience. It's worth it! Focused attention to the construction of your corset will lead to a masterpiece of beauty like nothing you've seen before. 

Materials Needed

  • A white or light-colored corset (see the "Planning" section for tips)

Adafruit Stuff

  • Circuit Playground Express
  • Soldering iron & accessories
  • Around 5-6 meters of side-light NeoPixels (see "Planning" section for more info)
  • Silicone stranded wire in 3 colors
  • A battery & charger
  • An on/off switch
  • USB cable for programming
1 x Circuit Playground Express
Circuit Playground Express Microcontroller
3 x Side-Light Neopixels - 120/m
Adafruit NeoPixel LED Side Light Strip - Black 120 LED
3 x Side-Light Neopixels - 60/m
Adafruit NeoPixel LED Side Light Strip - Black 90 LED
1 x Battery
Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh
1 x On/Off Switch
JST Connector with On/Off Switch
1 x Battery Charger
Adafruit Micro Lipo - USB LiIon/LiPoly charger - v1
3 x Ribbon Cable
Silicone stranded wire - 4 wire cable, 26awg

Fabric Store Stuff

  • About 6 yards of 3/8" wide ribbon
  • 2-3 yards of extra wide, double-fold bias tape
  • A flower or other decoration that's larger than the Circuit Playground (2" in diameter)
  • Scrap of fabric for a battery pocket
  • Needle & thread & scissors
  • Sewing machine
  • Jewel or marble for the center of the flower

Hardware Store Stuff

We're using the Circuit Playground Express, because programming it can be as easy as downloading a file and pressing reset, or if you're a monster coder you can use Arduino or CircuitPython with the Circuit Playground's onboard sensors to create something totally unique.

This guide was first published on Mar 19, 2019. It was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

This page (Overview) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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