How To Make Your Clothes Glow With Elastolite

So when Iron Man was in the cinemas, a few people came up with great Iron Man tutorials. I had a friend who wanted me to make one too.
I wasn't too keen. I would also need to carry around this big battery and inverter.
That is until I found Elastolite on Sparkfun.

Image: Sparkfun

It's Flexible & Iron On!
I was really excited about it as it is flexible - you can scrunch it up and it won't break or tear. And because it is flexible, you can incorporate it into to your clothing. The other plus is the circuit is adjustable (snip, snip!) and is iron on.

Good Online Instructions
The instructions were very straight forward - you just need this video , a good pair of hands and an iron! Remember to watch the video first before you start anything - this is IMPORTANT because all the little pieces are quite fiddly and once you iron there's no undoing it! If you are not sure, watch the video again until you get it.

What I Did
I took one of my old tops from work and decided to cut a few holes at the bust area. I then added interface and then proceeded to bead the area.

Why Did I Choose the Bust Area?
That's the most stable area in the garment, especially when the sash is tied towards the back.
The stability allows me to embed the elastolite onto the garment.  I decided not to sew the elastolite onto my top, as that would mean losing its waterproof properties and also I wouldn't be able to use it in another garment. Instead I made a mini insert out of felt that I could stick onto the underside of the garment with velcro.

I also ironed the circuit to felt to provide extra stability. You could iron it to the original garment if you like!

Pocket for the Battery
The ideal location for the battery is in a pocket. I sewed one for my garment and had it placed along the inner right seam.

I quite like how the elastolite makes my clothing different, plus I've designed the whole thing so that I can take it out and wear something else underneath. The battery lasts around 9 hours so having it on the whole evening is no problem. If it's off then you will have a "white patch".

Have you tried elastolite before? Share your tips here!