Dress Assembly
I tried a few different methods of attaching the pixels to this dress with varied success. The method I settled on for this project does a great job of keeping the pixels in place behind the polka dots with minimal sewing while keeping the fabric fairly unwrinkled and unblemished. I'm not sure how it will hold up to washing - I plan to wash by hand, in cold water, with the battery and controller removed.
For other ideas, check out these guides:
Attachment Failure 1: Underskirt Method
For past projects, I've preferred putting the pixels on a slip or under-skirt, so the outer dress can remain somewhat untouched and easy to wash. My first attempt used that method, but I was really unhappy with the results. It was really hard to guess exactly where the pixels should land, spacing-wise, and then even when I got it close the whole design looked blurry. The polka dot layer did not stay lined up with the pixel-laden slip and the geometric pattern was lost.
It's much better to attach the pixels directly to the dress, in this case.
Attachment Failure 2: Sewing
Next, I tried sewing the pixels to the dress on the inside using machine bar tacks across the wire.
This looked terrible: the dress is mostly polyester and pretty thin, and it shows everything. I didn't want a messy wire line showing all throughout the dress, pulling the dots out of alignment.
Attachment Success: Glue Dots & Interfacing
Zots 3d glue dots are a fantastic method for attaching the pixels to the polka dots. These glue dots are just slightly smaller than the polka dots and are thick enough to press the pixel into, and very sticky on both sides. The pixel presses firmly into the glue and, as a serious bonus, diffuses the light into a polka-dot sized circle. Instead of one tiny point of light, the seed pixel now makes the whole polka dot glow.
To keep the dress from sticking to itself on the inside, and to make sure the dots stay in place, I used featherweight black iron-on interfacing over the whole inside section, covering all the glue dots and wires and fusing to the inside of the fabric so the whole assembly is encased in a layer of interfacing.
Working one section at a time: Stick a glue dot onto the inside of each polka dot. Press the pixels into the glue dots. I angled each pixel just a little bit - left, then right, then left - to give the wire a bit of a zig-zag shape so the pixels don't pull the fabric out of shape, and everything lays flat.
Cut small strips of interfacing and place them glue-side-down on top of the pixel strand, making sure all the wires are encased. It's easiest to work in small sections - this stuff sticks to itself very well so layering it up a bit is fine.
Use an iron on medium-high heat to bond the interfacing to the dress. Be very careful here and mostly focus on placing the tip of the iron on the spots where the interfacing can touch the dress directly: i.e. try to iron AROUND the wires and glue dots if you can.
Going over the glue dots a bit won't hurt them, and will melt them into the fabric a little for even better adhesion, but they will burn through the fabric if you get them too hot, so take your time!
Try to get the fabric as smooth as possible beneath the interfacing. Any wrinkles that get ironed in at this stage will be there forever.
My dress has a double layer of fabric on the top for the cups. To get the pixels inside and aligned with the outer layer, I cut through the side seams and took out a few of the stitches along the yoke edge. I turned the cup section inside-out to work on it.
In hindsight it may have been easier to take these sections completely apart and work on ONLY the outer layer. Getting these to iron flat was a chore.
I threaded the pixels up through the yoke at the side seam and then down through the yoke at the center front when going from one side to the next.
Adding the interfacing for this part was super tricky since there are pleats in the fabric as well. I just took my time and went slowly and carefully.
The fabric did end up a bit wrinkly, and you can see a couple of the glue stains through the dots, but it still looks fabulous when I step back a couple feet.
For strain relief on the connector, fold it along the bottom side of the board so it wraps around and comes out the same side as the USB port.
Grab your 1" heat shrink and cut a piece that's slightly longer than the controller. Slide it on and shrink it down, making sure the USB port is accessible and the connector is solid.
Squirt a little bit of hot glue into the screw terminal end of the heat shrink to keep the wires from wiggling or pulling out. If you ever need to replace the connector or remove the board, a little rubbing alcohol will remove the hot glue cleanly and neatly.
Make a pocket for the electronics that lives under the dress. I made mine easily removable by sewing the soft side of some velcro into the waistband of the dress, then sewing the pokey side into the pocket. I put velcro in the top of the pocket as well so the electronics don't fall out if I throw the dress in a bag or drape it over a hanger.
This makes it easy to remove all the electronics when you want to wash the dress -- just unplug the connector and you're good to go.
Page last edited July 29, 2026
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