Introduction: Dazzle Jacket

About: An engineer, seamstress, cook, coder, and overall maker. Spent a summer at Instructables; got a degree in E: Neural Engineering at Olin College; made a microcontroller (tessel.io); now thinking about climate c…
This instructable is a basic example of a use of plug-and-play EL wire. I used it to outline a collar on the sparkly jacket of a dance costume.

This is part of a light-up dance costume and goes with the lightcatcher dress and fiber-optic laser fans. The costumes are intended to aid self-expression and augment the inherent drama and design of the dance costume.

The Dazzle Jacket echoes the cut of the costume, creating a striking glowing outline to emphasize the dancer's movements on a darkened stage.

Step 1: Materials

Sparkly jacket
EL wire (I used http://elbestbuy.com/shleofremali.html)
needle
thread
Some fabric
2 AA batteries

Step 2: EL Wire

We used 3' of plug & play (just add AA batteries!) from Live Wire. Outline the collar. I recommend whip stitch.
If you want it extra nice, you can pick out the edge of the fabric and tuck the end in.

Step 3: Make a Pocket

You need an inside pocket to support the battery pack. Ideally, get it as close to your back as possible, as the weight is best carried there. Stitch your extra cord to the jacket's inside up to the battery pack.
Cut a rectangle of somewhat stretchy fabric. You can finish the edge by zigzag stitching around the outside, or just fold the edges under as you whip stitch it on over the battery pack. Leave the end of the battery pack away from the cord open, so you can scrunch the fabric to slide the battery pack out if you need to change the batteries.

Step 4: Enjoy!

At your dance performance, rave, wherever!