This skirt by unlikelymichelle is every dancer’s dream, whether on stage or in a club. The RGB LEDs glow in different colors depending on the movements of the dancer, creating a pinwheel effect. You can hack a ballet tutu or create your own skirt using our FLORA microcontroller, the FLORA Accelerometer/Compass Sensor and a bunch of NeoPixels. Connect the electronics with conductive thread and make your own decisions about color based on movement and incorporate it into the Arduino programming. It’s easy to get started with our Sparkle Skirt learning guide and the code in the program will already allow your skirt to do a random selection of your favorite colors.

Have something larger in mind like a prom dress? The extra material means your NeoPixels will be farther away from the FLORA, so better to use silicone wire instead of conductive thread to insure good electrical connections. You can also consider using NeoPixel strips held in place with stitched harnesses or casings in the lining, but just keep in mind they don’t like sharp bends. For an epic example of a long dress, take a peek at our Fiber Optic Pixie Skirt guide. It uses special bright RGB LEDs called Pixies in combination with fiber optics for a magical motion effect. No matter what you design, you’ll have a blast with a swirl of LEDs on your skirt. Send us a video of your finished piece with matching choreography!

Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!