El Wire Backpack!

Step 1: El Wire Backpack!

Schools coming just around the corner, and all you have is a bland not so fun backpack...let's change that! In this Instructable you will be making your very own Electroluminescent wire (a.k.a. El wire) backpack!

Tools Needed:
*Knife or Scissors
*Needle

Materials Needed:
*Fishing wire
*Backpack
*El wire & Driver
*Tape

Skills Needed:
Small knowledge of sewing

How hard is this Instructable?
Easy-Moderate

***Note: I am not teaching you how to solder El wire. I am only teaching you how to attach it to your backpack. There are other Instructables out there that can teach you how to solder it. An example would be: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Solder-EL-Electroluminescent-Wire/

***Note: I am not responsible for the breaking of your backpack. You will have to cut holes in your backpack to be able to feed the wire through. Cut at your own risk.

With all that said, let's get started!

Step 2: Pick a Design

Each backpack is different, and each person will only have so much El wire. I only bought ten feet and I found that there were rings around the element symbol, so that gave me an easy design. If I had more El Wire I probably would have outlined the whole backpack. Be creative! Share your unique design on this Instructable!

Step 3: Tape the Design on the Backpack

The next step is to tape the design to the backpack. This will insure that the El wire will be secured onto the backpack when you are sewing it on. I used some scotch tape. Trust me now and DO NOT sew the El wire onto the backpack without tape. Tape makes things a lot easier, the final product looks better, and it helps the fishing wire not get tangled.

I also made something special to give my backpack a little pizzaz. Look at the pictures to see what I mean. I made this by bending the El wire into the letters and then separating the letters with electrical tape.

To make the rings look like they are separate rings on the backpack, what you will have to do is to cut a hole in the backpack and feed the wire through when you are done taping the first ring. Then cut another hole and feed the wire through and tape another ring making it look like the El wire is in separate rings.

Step 4: Sewing

Now comes the long part, sewing. This was a pretty hard part of the project for me because it was so time consuming. Find yourself a semi-large needle and feed some fishing wire through the needle. Meet both ends of the fishing wire together and tie a large knot. This will insure that the wire doesn't slip through when you start sewing. Secure the El wire onto the backpack using fishing wire. When you finish sewing the El wire finish off the job with a large knot inside the backpack. Make sure that if you have cut any holes in the backpack to sew them up so that they do not rip any bigger.

Step 5: You're Done!

Feed the connectors through a hole that you cut and sew it up and you're finished! Now it's time to show it off. Be the cool of your school with your brand new El wire backpack!