Make: Wearable Electronics: Design, prototype, and wear your own interactive garments

Good book

The cover is misleading. This book is for sewing projects. The cover made me think it was appropriate for kids' projects and STEM projects. Not the case.

Straight to the point, easy to follow, with advice for both EU and US hardware.

This book is exactly what I was looking for. I’m strong on the electrical side, but when it comes to integrating electronics with clothing, that’s where I had a knowledge gap—and this book filled it. It’s not an electrical engineering textbook. It only covers basic circuits—just enough to get you up and running. The focus is on the practical side of creating wearable technology, specifically integrating those basic circuits into all sorts of clothing and accessories. It’s full of hands-on advice about fabrics, garments, and how to combine them with electronic components in ways that are functional, usable, and most important--comfortable. There’s plenty of guidance on setting up a home studio, choosing fabrics that are easy to work with, and integrating them with electronics. The amount of time I’ll save from trial and error is huge—there are so many practical tips you won’t find in Adafruit videos. I’ve made a ton of new purchases based on the recommended resources and now have a much clearer picture of how all the pieces fit together. It’s an easy read, full of visuals, step-by-step tutorials, and lots of examples. One criticism I have of the wearable tech space in general is that it's felt stagnant the past several years—perhaps focusing too much on blinking LEDs rather than areas like integrated biosensors, interpersonal communication, and other interesting uses. It was great to see the author mention more ambitious applications, which the field clearly lacks. I have a vision for the kind of body-integrated tech I want to build, and now, with a stronger understanding of how to integrate electronics into clothing, I’m excited to move forward with my next round of prototypes. I've learned quite a lot, and for this, I have to give this book top marks and express my gratitude to the author.