Party Hat

I wanted a headpiece that’s fun and cute to wear at public events, parties, clubs, or any social events. I wanted to stand out in the crowd while enjoying myself without a care. Unfortunately, there are creeps and weirdos who can’t seem to understand basic social cues when the person is uncomfortable, or they have never talked to the opposite gender for some reason, and they don’t know how to converse. This hat, while it’s cute, has LED lights to signal an SOS in Morse Code. The user may not be the confrontational type to tell this person to back off, or the creep is a dangerous individual. All the user has to do is touch the wire to send off the signal and hope someone can see the distress call to step in. In the Chinese zodiac, there was a cultural belief amongst Eastern Asian cultures that people have different traits from their zodiac animals. As this year is the year of the horse, the white horse typically has strong masculine traits, which negatively impacted the women. Korean women who were born in the year of the horse were promptly seen as argumentative, stubborn, and independent because the Yin energy is excessive. Some parents even terminate their pregnancy when they find out it’s a girl. They believed the girl would bring ruin and misfortune to the family and their future husband.

Materials used: white yarn, crochet hook, fake pearl beads, tape (non-conductive), small metal rings, white paint, paintbrush, stretchy strings, wires, wire cutter, drill, wire pincer, 3V LED lights, Arduino Circuit Playground, 3D printed horse ears, battery

I was inspired by this Diamond Headpiece and wanted to implement it into my project. With my sketches, I initially wanted to make the headpiece with mesh as the base.

I first made the code for the board to make the LED lights flicker in Morse code. And to activate the LED lights, I made a capacitive sensor in A6. To check if it works, I look in the serial monitor to see if the numbers go up by touching A6. Then I did the code of else and if to make the sensor work.

The circuit design shows how the LED lights are wired in A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, and GND. The red wires are positive, so they go in A1, A2, A3, A4, A5. And blue wires go to GND because it is negative. In A6, which is a capacitive sensor, I used a black wire to elongate it to put it under the horse's ears. Then use screws to tighten the wires securely.

I used a file to make the horse's ears and made 30mm, then extruded 5mm to make the base under the horse's ears. This makes it more stable and less wobbly.

The initial design was supposed to be mesh, but I changed my mind at the last minute because I thought I was more knowledgeable with crochet than mesh. I searched up a YouTube video that matches the aesthetic I was going for.

Make sure to tape the black wire beneath the ear. Then paint the tape with paint to match the colors of the ear. Make sure the exposed ends are peeking out a bit to be able to touch them to activate.

Sew the Arduino Circuit Playground into the headpiece with the holes that won't disrupt the circuit. And drill holes into the horse's ears and the circles. Cut some wires with the wire cutter to insert the wires into the holes. The circles go inside the headpiece, then insert the wires through to secure them. These wires can be hard to manipulate, so use the pincers to make sure to tighten the ends.

Using the stretch strings and the pearl beads, I made 12 pearl strings. With the wire pincer, pinch the end of the strings to tighten them securely. And use the pincer to make the metal circles wider to insert the string. Then use the holes of the crochet to put the metal circle into the headpiece. Finally, insert the LED lights into the little space available in the string.

Here's how to wear the Party Hat and how to activate it in certain situations. This can teach people how to use it. Remember the SOS Morse code is: 3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots.