Table of Contents
OshwiPin: DIY PINS
Creation of OSHWDem mascot brooches (OSHWi, the octopus) made with felt, LEDs and conductive thread, during OSHWDem 2019.
The idea is to give an introduction to e e-textiles and soft circuit basic notions for anyone who knows a lot or a little about electronics.
We will provide a kit of materials with everything necessary for its preparation, and the BricoLabs volunteers will be on hand to help you make them, so that all the participants can take them home finished.
That way, we will help to spread the image of OSHWDem and promote open source technology to the general public.
Our Twitter: https://twitter.com/OshwiPin
Kit Contents
- White felt eyes piece.
- Blue felt body piece.
- Black felt pupil piece.
- Battery felt bag.
- Safety pin with holes.
- Conductive thread.
- LEDs.
- Snap fasteners.
- Button battery (CR2032 3V).
- Kit bag.
- Instructions.
Other necessary materials
- Scissors.
- Big eye needles.
- Thimbles.
- Threader.
- Stitch cutter.
- Round nose pliers.
- Extra LEDs.
- Conductive thread (bobbin).
- Normal blue thread.
- Pins and pincushions.
Procedure
- Assemble the pieces.
- Sew the safety pin.
- Sew the electrical circuit.
- Insert the cell battery.
- You can see full instructions here (spanish only by now): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GCWRxfRG0pNFzJ67yNSEldkmafNem9-4/view?usp=sharing
Tips on sewing with conductive thread
- Cut the conductive thread into small pieces, because with longer ones it becomes more entangled, among other problems (entanglements, the thread becomes untwisted, etc …) and here’s a tip, as my mother used to say: “Long thread, small seamstress ”.
- Use a thimble: “A seamstress without a thimble, sews little and badly”. Thank you for keeping my fingertips safe, mum!
- A needle with a big eye (because the conductive thread is thicker than standard thread), but not too big, because otherwise it doesn’t go through the holes of the snap fasteners.
- A needle with a fine point (because big-eyed needles usually have a round tip and they don't pierce the felt easily, making it difficult to sew).
- In thick fabrics such as felt, to avoid showing the stitches on the right side of the work, it is best to sew on the reverse and pierce only half of the fabric, keeping it tidy on the right side.
Team members
- Conchi Fernández Munín, coordinator. https://twitter.com/cfdezmunin
- Daniel Rivera Domínguez.
- Raquel Pérez Fuentes. https://twitter.com/droid_project
- Loli Blanco Cotelo. https://twitter.com/LoliBlancoC
- Xosé Pérez López. https://twitter.com/XosePerezK
- Maite Rodríguez González.
- Rosa Arcas González. https://twitter.com/Rosa25575879
- Jordi Rodríguez Crespo. https://twitter.com/Jordi_R_C
- Loly López Pena. https://twitter.com/lolyp
Acknowledgment
- A special thanks to Xoan Sampaíño for his solutions: https://twitter.com/xoan
- Thanks to Conchita, english translator: https://twitter.com/conchifm
- And another big thanks to all the makers and all the other people who came to sew an OshwiPin with us at OSHWDem 2019 (https://oshwdem.org/makers-2019/). Love you all!
- Of course, none of this could be possible without the support and sponsorship from our alma máter, BricoLabs (https://bricolabs.cc/), and the OSHWDem 2019 organization team.