Wire on Fabric with Removable Snaps and Thread: Swatch 12

  Back Side of Swatch

Attachment to fabric:

TLDR: This swatch is very similar to swatch 05, but instead of soldering the snaps, we sewed to them with conductive thread. This is more labor-intensive, but also more durable for sustained use. There is an increase in resistance, compared to direct connections.

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.

Attachment between components:

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

Pros and Cons:

Pros: Removable components can be great for prototyping, making interchangeable parts (sub the vibe motor for a speaker!), and washing.

Sewing the snaps instead of soldering them (swatch 05) makes them a bit more flexible. You can pop the components on and off repeatedly without fear of the solder joint breaking.

Cons: Sewing the snaps is labor-intensive, compared to solder. There is an increase in resistance, compared to direct solder which should be considered for applications with a high current draw (like motors) and some sensors.