Build a neon stick-person costume from LED neon strips. These strips glow really brightly when connected to power, without the need for additional controllers or code of any kind. Just solder them together, plug in your battery pack, and glow!

They come in a lot of different colors, so you can glow in style. Make one for everyone in your family for an unforgettable group costume next Halloween. 

This tutorial will show you how to connect the strips together and power them, and make a simple velcro harness that straps on over your dark clothing to bring the costume to life. It's easy to adjust to fit different sized people, and no sewing is required. 

Suit up and let the dancing commence.

This build uses 5x flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED strips. They come in multiple colors, so select your favorite or mix and match!

Coil of neon-looking red light
Here at Adafruit we love discovering new and exotic glowing things. Like moths to the flame, we were intrigued by these fresh Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED...
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Angled shot rectangular black 8 x AA battery holder with 5.5mm/2.1mm plug and on/off switch.
Make a portable power brick with plenty of juice! Use Alkaline AA's for a 12V 3000-4000mAh power supply, or rechargeable NiMH for 2000mAh 9.6V supply. Either one is good for running...
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Angle shot Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block
If you need to connect a DC power wall wart to a board that doesn't have a DC jack - this adapter will come in very handy! There is a 2.1mm DC jack on one end, and a screw terminal...
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Angled shot of 2 2-pin JST SM Plug + Receptacle Cable, socket type and plug type.
These 2-wire cables are 16cm long and come as a set.  One side has a 2-pin JST SM type connector plug on the end.  The other side has a matching 2-pin JST SM type...
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You'll need batteries and a little bit of extension wire as well.

2 x Wire
2m Silicone Stranded Wire in Red & Black
2 x Batteries
8 AA batteries
1 x Heat Shrink
Heat Shrink Tubing - 1/4"

You'll Also Need

  • A bike helmet 
  • Clear / white zip ties
  • Velcro One-Wrap - A 25 foot roll will work for one adult-sized costume

This guide was first published on Mar 31, 2021. It was last updated on Mar 31, 2021.

This page (Overview) was last updated on Mar 21, 2023.

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