Fashioning Technology, and how to make a vibrating cell phone finger puppet

How to make a vibrating cell phone finger puppet

1. Cut three pieces of the pattern out of felt or fabric in the shape of your cell phone. The first layer will be the top, decorative layer; the second, middle layer will be the circuit layer; and the third layer will be your energy layer.

2. Take a vibrating motor and strip about .5" of insulation off both ends of the wires. Curl the stripped end of the negative (blue) wire into a loop and twist the wire together to secure the loop. Repeat for the positive (red) wire.

3. Position the vibrator in the center of the middle felt layer. Using a sewing needle and conductive thread, loop the thread around the bottom loop of the negative vibrator wire. Continue to sew a straight line towards the center of your fabric. Once you have reached the center, create the first contact point for the soft switch by embroidering a small patch of conductive thread. Knot and cut the thread.

4. Using conductive thread, create the second contact point for the soft switch by embroidering another small patch of conductive thread below the first. These two patches of conductive thread should NOT touch. Continue to sew a path to about 1" from the bottom of your fabric.

5. Grab the sewable battery holder and the third fabric layer. Align the edges of the middle, circuit layer with the back fabric layer and pull your needle from the circuit layer to the back layer. Sew the "--" negative contact of the battery holder securely onto the back fabric. Knot and cut the thread.

6. Using a sewing needle and conductive thread, now loop the thread around the bottom loop of the positive (red) vibrator wire. Continue to sew a straight line towards the bottom of your fabric near the "+" positive contact of the holder, making sure that your sewn traces don't intersect. Again, pull your needle from the circuit layer to the back layer and sew the "+" contact securely onto the fabric. Knot and cut the thread.

7. Using a hole punch, cut out a hole in the center of the top felt layer at the exact same location where your created the conductive contact points for the soft switch. Grab a poof or small pompom. Using conductive thread, create a small contact on one side of the poof. Knot and cut the thread. Using ordinary thread, sew the poof onto the top layer with the conductive patch directly on top of the hole.

8. Align the edges of all three felt layers together. Using embroidery thread, stitch all three layers together.

9. Slip a battery into the holder. When your press down on the poof (closing the circuit), the motor should vibrate.

10. Draw things like keys, screen, and icons on the top layer with permanent markers, and you're done!

This post is part of a theme day: BBG on Fashion