craftled

Craftled is a term used to describe the practice of integrating light-emitting diode (LED) technology into handmade crafts to produce illuminated objects. It sits at the intersection of traditional crafts—such as textiles, jewelry, sculpture, and woodworking—and modern electronics, often leveraging low-power LEDs, resistors, batteries, and microcontrollers.

Origins and usage: The word craftled emerged in maker and DIY communities in the early 2010s as hobbyists sought to describe the growing trend of embedding light into crafted items. The term is informal and not tied to a formal standard or industry body, but is used to categorize a family of techniques rather than a single recipe.

Techniques and materials: Common approaches include sewing LEDs and conductive thread into fabrics or garments, embedding LEDs in resin, wood, or clay, and diffusing light with silicone, acrylic, or fabric. Power can come from coin cells, small Li-ion packs, or USB-powered sources. Control ranges from simple blink circuits to microcontroller-based programs and addressable LEDs for patterns.

Applications and reception: Craftled projects appear in art installations, wearable art, jewelry, nightlights, and educational kits. Enthusiasts emphasize accessibility, rapid prototyping, and experimentation, alongside considerations of safety, heat, battery life and durability. The field overlaps with wearable electronics and LED art, and draws on platforms offering tutorials and templates.

See also: wearable electronics, LED art, e-textiles, DIY electronics.