omg thank you! I was so curious about this stuff and now I know what it looks like. It seems like for costume purposes, you might be able to make your own fiber optic fabric by threading optic fibers through black tulle or mesh. I imagine it would be time consuming though.
Did you run into any duty fees on import? I’m looking into this for a wedding dress but I am unsure what the duty or custom fees are for it coming into the US?
I ALWAYS DREAMED of getting a fiber optic wedding dress but they are SOOO expensive!!! Advice on trying to make my own or sewing this fabric on my wedding dress
You may not want to use this fabric for a wedding dress unless you're going to have your wedding in the dark with little to no lighting. We wanted to experiment with using higher wattage LED lights to get more "bang for our buck" but didn't have the time before the WOW competition. The LED's supplied with the fabric are not that bright and practically unnoticeable in the daylight. The camera "sees" them better than the naked eye. While the fiber optic tubes in the fabric itself are fairly resilient, adding more voltage to the included LED's does make them brighter, but shortens their lifespan considerably.
definitely a fabric for very specific uses (in my opinion). my first thought as I was watching was: what about glazing it onto a hard surface like shaped plastic and making high tech armor? it would preserve the fibers, for sure! and can you get the fabric to flash (automatically)?
Do you think this can be applied to the outside of accordion bellows? The simple choice would be under the grill cover but the I'm going for a reactive lighting effect towards the audience
Our experience with an accordion is that the bellows close at sharp angles when fully compressed and for storage. If the fabric gets creased the light will not travel down the fiber optic tubes and the fabric will go dark beyond the crease. So our recommendation would be to try a small experimental piece first, before buying the full amount of fabric for your project, but it is likely that it will not work in this instance.
Hey, any feedback on how to program a light effect? Use arduino controllers and own light source? I did not find any other other providers beside china either :-( Damn this is so cool, i wish it was more accessible
We didn't delve into that aspect of it. However, the LED's are removeable from the fiber optic bundles, so any color light can be used and independently controlled as long as the LED fits into the bundle and isn't too hot to melt the fiber optics.
R Varghese the fabric comes in different colors of base fabric and LED color. It's easy to hand sew. You're supposed to be able to machine sew it, but we haven't tried yet for fear of breaking too many fiber optic tubes.
Only if the stage is sufficiently darkened. We had issues with this on our Grendel's Mother costume. Watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/ro0U3yHzTv8/v-deo.html
It depends on what kind of durability you're looking for. For something more decorative, it would probably work fairly well. Like a bed spread or on the back of a couch. But if you're thinking of something more utilitarian, it most likely is too fragile for routine use.
Does this mean you guys are BRAVE? : } lol So THAT's what they meant in their video, ~ 'measured piece'. Thanks for info! Since you now have 'hookups' on both ends, What did you make? Seeing How Fiber Optics hook up to power, > How Doable it is if 'we' could obtain this attachment? (or make one) = )
Ive been trying to research this material for ages. I've had a few friends work with it but I cant find their references to it. Thanks for the video!
You're welcome!
omg thank you! I was so curious about this stuff and now I know what it looks like. It seems like for costume purposes, you might be able to make your own fiber optic fabric by threading optic fibers through black tulle or mesh. I imagine it would be time consuming though.
Saruman the Wise you're welcome!
Did you run into any duty fees on import? I’m looking into this for a wedding dress but I am unsure what the duty or custom fees are for it coming into the US?
officialhambly don't recall any duty fees. All costs were figured in the price we paid on the website.
officialhambly turns out there was a duty fee of about $50 that was paid COD.
@@CostumeTrek thank you so much! That's very helpful! Can't wait to see how your project turns out
I ALWAYS DREAMED of getting a fiber optic wedding dress but they are SOOO expensive!!! Advice on trying to make my own or sewing this fabric on my wedding dress
You may not want to use this fabric for a wedding dress unless you're going to have your wedding in the dark with little to no lighting. We wanted to experiment with using higher wattage LED lights to get more "bang for our buck" but didn't have the time before the WOW competition. The LED's supplied with the fabric are not that bright and practically unnoticeable in the daylight. The camera "sees" them better than the naked eye. While the fiber optic tubes in the fabric itself are fairly resilient, adding more voltage to the included LED's does make them brighter, but shortens their lifespan considerably.
definitely a fabric for very specific uses (in my opinion). my first thought as I was watching was: what about glazing it onto a hard surface like shaped plastic and making high tech armor? it would preserve the fibers, for sure!
and can you get the fabric to flash (automatically)?
Michael D'alelio we've had success doing exactly that. Mounting the fabric to rigid or semi- rigid surfaces increases it's durability.
Michael D'alelio you'd have to create a circuit to make it flash. The battery control only switches on and off.
Thanks so much for making this. I've been contemplating this fabric from that exact site for almost 2 years. Very helpful!
Elizabeth Schram you're welcone!
does it have to stay plugged in the whole time?
It runs on batteries. If you want the effect, it has to be turned on. But you can turn it off to save batteries when you don't want it lit up.
Do you think this can be applied to the outside of accordion bellows? The simple choice would be under the grill cover but the I'm going for a reactive lighting effect towards the audience
Our experience with an accordion is that the bellows close at sharp angles when fully compressed and for storage. If the fabric gets creased the light will not travel down the fiber optic tubes and the fabric will go dark beyond the crease. So our recommendation would be to try a small experimental piece first, before buying the full amount of fabric for your project, but it is likely that it will not work in this instance.
I'm interested as a raver/cosplayer and I had heard of it so it's awesome to see a review on it!
Glad to have been of help!!
Hey, any feedback on how to program a light effect? Use arduino controllers and own light source? I did not find any other other providers beside china either :-( Damn this is so cool, i wish it was more accessible
We didn't delve into that aspect of it. However, the LED's are removeable from the fiber optic bundles, so any color light can be used and independently controlled as long as the LED fits into the bundle and isn't too hot to melt the fiber optics.
Can you change the color easily? And how was working with the fabric?
R Varghese the fabric comes in different colors of base fabric and LED color. It's easy to hand sew. You're supposed to be able to machine sew it, but we haven't tried yet for fear of breaking too many fiber optic tubes.
This would be wonderful on a production of Cinderella
Only if the stage is sufficiently darkened. We had issues with this on our Grendel's Mother costume. Watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/ro0U3yHzTv8/v-deo.html
Would this fabric work well for light blanket? Something in the size of 55x75"? Thanks
It depends on what kind of durability you're looking for. For something more decorative, it would probably work fairly well. Like a bed spread or on the back of a couch. But if you're thinking of something more utilitarian, it most likely is too fragile for routine use.
This gives me uh... Costume execution ideas.
Thanks!
So glad we could help! If you run into any challenges with it, feel free to send us questions.
You're welcome! Post on our Facebook page your progress!
Fra-gee-lai haha hilarious XD
It's a classic!
Does this mean you guys are BRAVE? : } lol So THAT's what they meant in their video, ~ 'measured piece'.
Thanks for info! Since you now have 'hookups' on both ends, What did you make?
Seeing How Fiber Optics hook up to power, > How Doable it is if 'we' could obtain this attachment? (or make one) = )
You're welcome!
We made this: ua-cam.com/video/ro0U3yHzTv8/v-deo.html
We're working of the "making of" video right now! Stay tuned!
god i want to buy like 8 feet of this but i don’t want to take a loan
It is pricey! Get a sample piece first and play with it to make sure it will do what you actually want it to.
@@CostumeTrek honestly i might just try making my own from scratch.
Fra jii lay
LOL!!!