Woven sparkle scarf

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Ecoleica
 
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Woven sparkle scarf

Post by Ecoleica »

Hi all,

I'm a fibre artist in NZ and I'm very new to the whole wearables scene. I was wondering if I could get some advice. I'm weaving a scarf at the moment and I'm hoping that once it is done I'll try and darn some LED sequin lights into it and make it a sparkling scarf. Based on my research so far I have decided to use a GEMMA M0 board and around 15 LED sequins (connected via conductive thread).

So my questions are:
- Is the GEMMA the right board to use for a project like this?
- How do I choose what type of battery I should use? The smaller the better if possible.

Thank you for your help

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Woven sparkle scarf

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

A Gemma has only 3 GPIO pins and would not be able to drive 15 sequins. Each pin can drive at most 2 or 3 sequins.

You could use a processor with more pins such as a Flora or a CircuitPlayground. Or you could use Neopixels. The Neopixels are a bit bulkier than the sequins, but they are simpler to connect and you can control any number of them with just one GPIO pin.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1260

LiPo batteries are a good choice for your project. They come in a variety of sizes. As you might expect, the power capacity is roughly proportional to the size. So the best choice will depend a bit on how much run-time you expect from a charge.
https://www.adafruit.com/category/574

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Ecoleica
 
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Re: Woven sparkle scarf

Post by Ecoleica »

Thanks so much! I think ill go down the neopixel route then.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Woven sparkle scarf

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I should have posted this link for you. It covers the basics of working with Neopixels: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide

And this one goes into a little more detail about using batteries efficiently for wearable projects: https://learn.adafruit.com/sipping-power-with-neopixels

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