Wire on Fabric with Removable Snaps and Solder: Swatch 05

Attachment to fabric:

In this test, the wire is attached to the fabric with a zigzag stitch, completed on a sewing machine. To do this, you should sew on either side of the wire (not through the wire). The zigzag stitch is holding the wire in place, by sewing around it. You could also do this by hand, but it would take some time.

Attachment between components:

In this test, the wire is soldered to conductive silver snaps (from Sparkfun). The other side of the snaps are soldered to the components, for example, a vibration motor (below). Why? Because this makes components removable, which could be useful for washing.

Pros and Cons:

As you may recall from swatch 1, wire and solder are a reliable combination with low resistance. However, you need to be careful when soldering the snaps, as too much solder will prevent them from closing. Also, when attached to a flat pcb, as they are in the image above, they can pop off the component through repeated use. We found that sewing the snaps onto elements that allow it, is actually more durable over time (swatch 12).