Dreaming of bike gloves that light up to keep you visible at night, or an awesome illuminated costume? Or maybe you’d like to add a bit of extra sparkle to your living room with a glowing throw pillow… Whatever project you have in mind, if you’re curious about the process of integrating electronics into fabric, this workshop is a great place to start.

Shannon Henry and Cat Poole will start by touching on some of the interesting things being developed with eTextile methods and useful resources, then we’ll spend some hands on time laying out a basic LED circuit and sewing it on to fabric using conductive thread. You’ll learn how to convert standard LEDs (and other electronic components) into sewable ones, and how to use standard textile fastenings like zippers and snaps to switch your project on and off, plus lots of tips on how to make your project easier and make sure it lasts.

No prior electronics or sewing experience required. Conductive thread and electronic components will be provided.

About the instructors:
Shannon Henry loves to make things that blend the science & tech world with art and crafts. She has been crafting with fabric since she could handle safety scissors, and began integrating electronics into her art in 2008. Her eTextile work has been shown in San Francisco, New York, and Vancouver BC. She also develops sewn electronics kits and tutorials, which you can find at her website, Polymathdesignlab.com.

Cat Poole is a one woman instigator of perception bending mayhem. Through “Discovering Empowerment Through Creativity” workshops and Upcycled Electronics, she encourages all to defy their programming and void all warranties. Find out more at her site, Cacophonouscreations.com.

I started off this weekend with my first ever actual woodworking class over at Techshop Portland. They’ve just started splitting the drum sander into its own class  – apparently people weren’t cleaning up after themselves and were blowing through sandpaper strips like nobody’s business, and occasionally setting their projects on fire!

I’ve been wanting to learn how to use more of the power tools and woodworking equipment over at Techshop anyway, and I’ve just started playing a bit with using the laser cutter to do veneer inlays – a process that stood to be seriously sped up by the ability to do a quick and accurate finish sanding after gluing in the inlay. So when the drum sander class showed up in a time that fit my schedule, I jumped!

The class was great – not only did I get to learn the drum sander, but as the person teaching me had seen the sorts of things I do on the laser cutter, he also showed me how to use the band saw and planer to make nicely finished thin wood stock, like I use for my jewelry, out of larger pieces of lumber – awesomeness!

Now I just have to decide which class is next on my own personal agenda… more woodworking? The vinyl cutter? Maybe metal casting… hmmm.