When cosplayer Pixie Kitty decided to dress up as a character from Vocaloid, she decided to make sleeves that light up and look snazzy. She started with a fabric base, designed a transparent pattern, and included an EL sheet to illuminate it all. The sleeve is simple, but it looks awesome. Though it works perfectly for this costume, it could also be translated to a club accessory.

Here’s how she made it shine:

The light-up part:
This part was the easiest, but most expensive part. I spent close to $60.00 on the EL sheets alone! In the end, I didn’t think it was really worth the money for me since I don’t wear my costumes after dark very often. However, if you plan to wear your costume at night or in the evening, then this is a pretty cool effect! Do note that many cameras do not pick up the lighting though.

I used Electroluminescent Sheets (EL sheets) aka EL backlight sheets to make these light up. The light-up panel slides into the clear vinyl pocket. The wires that power the sheets are each attached to a 9 volt battery pack (that is rather bulky and annoying to wear). I made black cases that close with Velcro to hold the battery packs (they look like little change purses). Each of the two cases have a Velcro strap to attach them to my arms!

Important: Before ordering your EL sheets, make sure you have a battery driver with it! The 9 volt battery driver that I used has an on/off/flash switch.

Read more at Pixie Kitty.