GoKawiilDeveloper builds wearable LED-filament 'neon' t-shirt in days for office event
A hobbyist engineer repurposed leftover flexible LED filaments to build a custom light-up t-shirt for a neon-themed work event announced with less than a week's notice. The project combined an ESP32 controller, a USB battery bank, boost converters and constant-current LED drivers with hand-sewn filament strips stabilized by a stiff fabric backing. The build process included early tests to attach and shape the filaments on cotton fabric without bunching.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The project illustrates how surplus hobbyist electronics components, originally designed for retro-style LED bulbs, can be repurposed into wearable tech on a tight deadline. It also offers a practical reference for makers interested in combining microcontrollers, power electronics and textile work for flexible, battery-powered LED displays.
- Used flexible LED 'noodle' filaments meant for retro light bulbs in a wearable project
- Combined ESP32, boost converters and LED drivers powered by a USB battery bank
- Built the entire custom shirt in under a week for a themed event
Adafruit Flexible LED Filament Strip — This is literally the core material used to build the neon-style shirt in the article, and sourcing from Adafruit gets you reliable quality plus support for their open-source hardware efforts. It's flexible enough to sew into fabric designs while still giving that bright, neon-tube glow effect for DIY wearable projects.
See Adafruit Flexible LED Filament Strip on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: scottbezek.blogspot.com — Scott Bezek, 2026-10-08
Published there as: “Making a flexible "neon" t-shirt with LED filaments”
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