Sophie
This week, I purchased a new jacket and changed the aesthetic of my design. I decided to go with a more simplistic version of the space theme I had originally thought of. I am planning now to cover the back of the jacket in a linen fabric, with a natural color. I really liked the fabric I have been practicing on with embroidery hoop, but that particular fabric only comes in a pre-made towel so it is not big enough to fit over the back of this new jacket. I need to go to Joanne's Fabrics and take a look at some other fabrics that I can purchase by the yard so I can have a one big sheet big enough to fit over the back of the entire jacket. I plan to then put the top right design (on the sketch sheet page below) on the back of my jacket. I plan on the sun being on top of the jacket painted with yellow UV paint and underneath will be an EL wire or neopixel strip that will shine downwards, simulating the sun shining on the 8 planets below. Each planet will be painted with some colored paint and some UV paint, to give them some color inside and cause them to become even more colorful outside. Each planet will have a fiber optic encircling it. Each fiber optic will be lit up by an LED that corresponds to the color of the planet. Mercury is White, Venus is Yellow, Earth is Blue, Mars is Red, Jupiter is Orange, Saturn is Yellow, Uranus is Blue, Neptune is Blue. I will also have the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter with some white neopixels lighting up some of the asteroids. I also plan on having some stars scattered throughout the jacket, lit up by sewable LEDSs. All of my electronics will be hidden behind the linen fabric but above the denim. I will be using a Lilypad USB Plus to control all of my lights and use a Lithium Ion 850mAh battery to power it. This battery can be recharged if we plug the Lilypad into a computer while also attached to the battery. My circuit board and Lilypad will be located in a pocket on the inside center of the back of the denim so keep it invisible from viewers through the linen. All of the electronic supplies I need for this have been ordered and will be picked up today (2/12). We have the UV pigments we need to paint but I may need to get more regular colored acrylic paint, which is an easy quick pickup if needed.
Divya
This week I changed up my design to not include fiber optics around the bear design. I spent a lot of time trying to think of a design that would look good, be something I wanted to wear and challenges me. I decided to cut out parts of the denim jack and replace it with a sheer material. I tested how the light would come through on pieces that included embroidery and sequins. I found it looked best coming through embroidery and choose a floral mesh (depicted in the second picture below). I plan to place LED's behind some of the flowers to light them up.
I am looking at adding mountains with either EL wire or fiber optics to the background of the bear. I also am still debating just painting flowers on the pockets and through out the jacket so some change colors. The design is depicted below.
Additionally this week I ordered batteries to power the jackets and sewable LEDs. I plan to hide the electronics in the pockets, so it is easily accessible to charge the batteries. I also had to order a new jacket because the distributor canceled my original order (image below).
Summer
This week I also received a new jacket that I ordered online. This jacket is more of a classic denim jacket style. Unfortunately it is not "true" denim and is made of a cotton/synthetic blend to make the fabric feel softer and more comfortable. Although this goes against my original vision of pure denim that shows how the owner wears it, I think it will work for the project. I have continued to develop my design for this jacket by painting on a scrap denim and positioning fiber optics to accentuate the design. I am stuck between two major design subjects, the butterfly and the snake. I will be cutting out shapes from paper and pinning them to the jacket to decide on which layout I prefer for this jacket. It is important for me to reach a final design that is both original and fits the jacket well.
Our collective plan moving forward is to dedicate team time into working on each jacket one at a time. Since we each have unique skillets, and I am the only one with a background in sewing, I think this will be the best way to make sure all the jackets are executed to their full potentials. Although my final design is not fully fleshed out, I think helping my teammates realize their own designs will help me decide on my own. On Tuesday, after consulting with Melissa, our advisor, we ordered our micro-controllers, batteries and initial sewable leds for color testing, which will allow us to begin exploring circuit layout. I think circuit design is a really important phase of the project as the more well thought out our circuits are, the more visually appealing and comfortable the jackets will be. As well its an important test of circuit reliability using conductive thread.
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