[Cyborg] tron jacket tips?

[Eric Boyd]

I went to the sewing shop yesterday, and bought up leather needle and 
clear thread.  I also asked the shop keeper about it, and he told me 
about 'leather double-sided tape', and sold me some.  It's apparently 
designed for working with leather, and doesn't harm the leather when it 
come off.  I have in fact verified this, it comes off the leather 
without damaging it, though I have to say it makes an ungodly mess of 
the EL wire. It does seem to be strong enough to hold the EL wire 
without trouble, at least over shorter lengths - it's remarkably strong 
glue.  I'm a bit worried that over longer lengths the bending of the 
fabric versus the bending of the EL wire is gonna cause a lot of 
problems.  There is also the issue of the exposed glue (basically what's 
not behind the EL-wire), which I'm thinking of covering with some 
regular clear tape, over the EL wire, providing an additional layer of 
attachment.  I'm also going to experiment with using the clear thread in 
places where the holes will be less visible, to provide some anchor points.

Anyone done anything like this, using glue over longer distances on 
flexible materials?

I bought some EL-tape as well, but I discovered that it's basically 
flexible only back and forth, and not side-to-side, plus there doesn't 
seem to be any way to cut and resolder it (my attempts at this failed 
miserably, inside the EL-tape is basically a paste, and I couldn't come 
up with anyway to attach a conductor to it without damaging it very 
quickly).  So it's really not useful for anything except straight-line 
stretches, and even then it's so rigid that it doesn't move well - it's 
basically not usable against fabric of any kind.  Disappointing.

Eric



On 4/19/13 1:53 PM, Rachel McConnell wrote:
> If you want to take the lighting off again and use the jacket as is, 
> be very careful with stitching.  Don't make too many holes. Leather 
> doesn't 'heal', and a hole is forever a weak spot.  I'd suggest a 
> temporary adhesive instead, but I don't know of any that would both 
> keep lights of any sort actually on, and come off again without 
> damaging the leather surface.
>
> Also, send pix when you're done!
>
> Rachel
>
> On 4/19/13 10:43 AM, Sean Cusack wrote:
>> I learned that there is a better way to do it than EL stuffs :-). Check
>> out my instructable (it uses LEDs diffusing in a narrow space), and I
>> swear I talk a lot about attaching them:
>>
>> http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-lit-Tron-v20-suit/
>>
>> That being said, if you really want to go after EL wire / panels the
>> best thing I can tell you is *bendy is bad*, so mod your patterns to
>> dodge your shoulders, elbows, knees, and waist. If you have to cross
>> these areas, do it with dark wires or widely space your stitches so the
>> panels/wire can come off the garment when you move. It will increase the
>> longevity of your outfit I promise.
>>
>> Hope that helps!
>> Sean
>>
>> On Apr 19, 2013 8:16 AM, "Eric Boyd" <mrericboyd at yahoo.com
>> <mailto:mrericboyd at yahoo.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     Hey, I want to make a tron jacket, for an upcoming party.  I have a
>>     tight fitting leather jacket (which ironically is actually a prop
>>     jacket from the remake of Robocop - got it at a recent inventory
>>     sale!), which has approximately the right shape and fit. It's got
>>     epaulettes (which typically tron jackets don't), but it has the
>>     right collar, and the front pockets are not in the way of a good
>>     tron pattern.
>>
>>     I'm looking for tips on how to actually make the jacket. I'm
>>     planning to use EL-strip, and potentially some EL-wire as well.  I
>>     can see lots of images of Tron jackets on google image search, so
>>     the pattern is no problem, I'm looking for advice on how to attach
>>     the strip and wire to the jacket without destroying the jacket, or
>>     taking forever.  I found some tutorials online but you just know
>>     they didn't include the most important tip!  So, advice solicited, I
>>     know many of you have worked with EL wire and potentially EL panel
>>     clothing, what did you learn?
>>
>>     Eric
>>
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