Tech company Kickstarter has championed a new course with technology innovation. Their new kit uses sewing to teach kids and inexperienced adults about electronics.

 

They also learn about electric circuits by sewing dolls, bracelets and soft figures. They get to learn how to make them light up, make noise and move.

 

The technology was created by two authors. Ji Sun Lee and Jaymes Dec wrote Tech DIY: Easy Electronics Projects for Parents and Kids in 2016, and now sewing has become a part of it.

 

 

Lee thought of exploring the idea of using textile crafts to teach electronics during her Master’s theses. She wanted to find a way to close the gender gap in technology. She is now a professor at a women’s college in Korea.

 

Dec, on her end, is a lab teacher at a girls’ private school who shares similar passions. Lee in an interview said, “I also worked in the IT industry for many years, where it had very few women employees.”

 

“Although both of us teach technology, we feel that the educational content created for female users is minimal and marginalised,” she added.

 

The pair decided to use sewing for their projects. This is because most of the women and girls in their vicinity were already familiar with textile crafts.

 

Lee explained that even though there were already kits that combined electronics with textile, the programming required for the micro-controller is too complicated. They designed the Tech DIY kit for young children and adult beginners.

 

The kits can be built with basic sewing skills and also varies in complexity. This allows new makers to catch up on the technology.

 

 

Two types of kits

There are two different types of kits.

 

The first is the Joy Kit which contains five projects. It includes an embroidery sampler called My Happy House. It teaches about circuits, electricity and basic electronic components. The joy kit also contains a pillow called the Purring Elephant that uses a motor to move and vibrate.

 

The second kit is the Awesome Kit. It is for more advanced users and it includes components for projects. For example, the Nightlight Cat Bracelet which uses a light sensor and transistor to light up in the dark. It also contains the Solar Sun Project which is powered with solar panels instead of batteries.

 

The Kickstarter kits include all the necessary components for the projects.