Hannah Perner-Wilson: How to Get the Most From E-Textiles #WearableWednesday #wearabletech #DIY
Often when people ask me about leaders in wearable tech, I offer the name Hannah Perner-Wilson. She is the one you rarely hear about, yet you probably have seen a version of her E-textile sensors. Well, thanks to Anna Blumenkranz, the world is about to learn more about Hannah and her work. Anna has launched a book Wearables für Maker. Experimentieren, nähen, gestalten (Wearables for Makers. Experimenting, sewing, shaping). The book is filled with interviews of people doing E-textiles and Anna is currently posting some excerpts on her blog. So, here’s a snippet from the interview (which has been translated from German).
Favorite tool?
Camera, cutter, crochet hook, multimeter, tweezers, sewing needle, soldering iron, pencil, paper and my hands.
How do you start a new project?
Playing around with materials helps developing ideas. Some of them later grow into projects. And sometimes they feed into a concept and you realise it. However while making a project I never stop questioning the initial idea and taking it further.
Advice to new E-textile newbies?
Start with materials. The multimeter offers you a possibility to discover and understand electrical properties. Experiment, document and share your results.
A big thanks to Anna for creating a book that all wearable techies will love. If you would like to take Hannah’s advice and explore conductive materials, check out our Sensor Film Kit. You can experiment with your own sensors using black sensor film, foil and adhesive polyester film. It’s always good to try new things—show us what you make!
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!
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Diving into the Raspberry Pi RP2350, Python Survey Results and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
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!