Harsha’s Plush “In-Orbit” Night Light

Concept

Inspired by our solar system, the In-Orbit Night Light takes inspiration from the moon and the earths formation story. It is made for those who would like to feel connected to their loved ones, whether family, or platonic or romantic relationships. Each half is able to take this plush night light apart or bring it back together.

And for those interested, who might not have known about how the moon and earth orbit formed, this is how the story goes:

Before the moon and the earth, there was proto-Earth and the planet Theia. Around 4.5 Billion years ago these two planets collided and a chunk of the earth from the Pacific Ocean region flew off but luckily got caught in the earths orbital ring. While Theia practically melted away during this collision, the orbiting chunk, which we now call “Moon,” stayed in orbiting the Earth. Although the moon is orbiting away slowly from the earth, they still remain connected and pulled by each others forces. This story reminds us of our loved ones who might be distanced away from us but make us feel complete.

5 LED Circuit

Circuit Diagram

Soldering Process

Overall building the circuit went well however, I wish I had better planned the wire lengths. By making them all the same they allowed little stretch when placing in my plush night light.

Making the Plush

Moon Stencil

Earth Stencil

I traced the moons void once I had made the plush with filling to get the most accurate earth stencil

Process

Final

The outcome is one whole plush, or two plushes separately. If I were to do this again, I would try to make the earth chunk a little larger, and also maybe find a higher pile material. I was trying to create diffusion by placing the lights a little behind the earth to give a hair light effect. I did learn a lot about proportions during my first prototype so I am happy overall with the smoothness of the curves and also the colours and softness of the fabric.

Erica’s Plush Night Light

(slide image to the left to see non-retouched version)

The “Goodnight Moon”: This version would be for a chic, goofy couple. This bowl is on their wishlist, and this plush nightlight is on their bed. One partner still wants the lights on at night? No problem, the moon lights up. But hey, the moon and other partner will be wearing eye masks because they’re tryna sleep 😤


Process:

Pattern: I drew a crescent moon with a face on cardstock, achieving the curve with pen + string tied to a center pin. Initially, I was worried about my ability to successfully create the pattern because I felt too stretched for time to learn how to draw it with proper curves on illustrator, break it apart for printer-sized paper, and paste it together to then cut into a pattern. Emma suggested the pencil + string method for hand drawing the curve and that worked great! Next time I would exaggerate the facial features in the pattern because with the hem and piping, the mouth and brow ended up getting lost in execution.

Materials: For this version, I used a white cotton knit, blue piping, a zipper, and poly fill. I had never sewn in piping or a zipper before, so that was a great learning experience. The piping was important to help define the white blobby shape, and the zipper is ideal for using the battery pack. I used an existing eye mask (shoutout to Rihanna’s savage fenty brand for passing these lacy purple ones out at Barclays Center once). Next time I might use a silk for the pillow, because the target buyer is looking for something more elevated than cotton (which also attracts hairs/lint/dirt more easily – not great for a white night light). However, I’d also be interested in a fabric with more structure, given the lumpiness of poly fill – maybe a white crushed velvet that still allows for light to shine through.

Sewing: Sewing was generally smooth, just a learning experience to add the piping and zipper. A few hiccups given the difference in stretch for the piping vs main cotton. I also didn’t have the best sewing machine foot for adding in a zipper.

Electronics: I used 7 cold-white diffused LEDs. I soldered them mainly into pairs, consolidating them into 1 positive and 1 negative wire per 2-LEDs, and then continued pairing the pairs. I cut out a .5 inch piece of white foam in a boomerang shape that I could slide into the pillow. I then cut slits along the outside of the foam where I’d slide in each LED to sit atop the foam. I did the arrangement congruously with soldering, to make sure that I was cutting wires to the right length. I then taped the LEDs atop the slits in the foam on one side and taped down the wires on the backside, so that neither would get shuffled when I added the poly fill. Next time, I would like to have more LEDs (16 or so) to light up the full pillow. I need to better understand Ohm’s law to calculate how many LEDs I can have per-battery pack in order to do so, but otherwise have space for them in the layout. I would also like to use a warmer-white LED, which is better for nighttime.

Nymph’s Plush Night Light

Beddy-Bye

Do you often get up at night?

Do you occasionally find yourself fumbling around in the middle of the night and still can’t find what you’re looking for?

This is a night light that can help you use at night and is convenient and portable.

You can bend it or hang it anywhere to help you use it.

Material Using

Different Fabrics
Metal Clasps Clip

Something Else

I should have used two LED bulbs!!

I should have used two LED bulbs!!

I should have used two LED bulbs!!

Circuit diagram

Process

Sew the body part

Place led bulbs

Sew the part that holds the battery box and switch

blingbling

Cut the fabric to make the part that connects to the main body

Sew them!

Place metal connections

That’s it!!!

Using scenario

Hang on the wall

Wear on the body

Everybody Good Night!!!🎑

Emma’s Mushroom Plushie

The mushroom plush nightlight is the perfect companion to brave the dark. Feel the warmth and magic glowing through this forest wonder. The mushroom plush can be placed on a bedside table or near the door to guide your way. While the red fabric is opaque, the white dots are made of a more translucent material to allow the nightlight to softly glow through the spots. They’re intentionally placed in clusters so that one side is brighter and the other, with fewer spots, is less bright. Rotate the mushroom depending on where you want the light directed.

For ages 5-99+!

Materials used:
– Red & Beige Felt
– Stuffing
– Thread
– 6 Yellow LEDs connected to a battery pack

Making the first prototype allowed me to experiment with designing a pattern and improving that pattern for the final product. I loved soldering the LEDs. I regret not using a lower resistor but I’m proud of my work. If I had more time, I would explore making the stem a detachable flashlight. I would also add more LEDs and spots.


“Ghost alarm clock” Plush Night Light by Jiaqi

1.”Ghost alarm clock”

2. FOR WHAT

Suitable for reminding children to sleep at night.

Give it a punch and go to sleep at peace.

3. Description of materials and parts used

Two batteries, two LEDs, two 100Ω resistors, several wires

Cotton, cloth, etc…

4. Circuit diagram

5. Description of your journey through this project, for example:

In this project, I sewed the doll and soldered LEDs by myself, which was a great sense of accomplishment.

I don’t feel tired doing interesting things. Very interesting

6. In-progress images

Toys by Tao Presents: Leo the Lemur Plush Night Light

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night, needing to pee?

Or maybe you’re sleepless in bed, and want to sit up and read for a little while.

Or maybe, you’re staying somewhere unfamiliar, and you’re worried that if you *do* wake up in the middle of the night, you won’t remember where the light switch is, and then you’ll bonk your knee into a table or bang your head into a wall. Yowza! That’ll be one big bruise.

Leo the Lemur lighting the lamp’s light switch

Leo the Lemur is a plushie night light for kids of all ages who either (A) love lemurs (B) need a little help turning on the lamp in the middle of the night or (C) all of the above.

Last week, when looking through some of the other plushie designs, I was really impressed by lights that served a clear purpose. It popped in my head that one of the most frustrating things I experience in the darkness is the inability to find the light switch. And thus, Leo.

Leo the Lemur reading a book by tail-light

This project was a major challenge, in a very satisfying way—I definitely learned a lot in the process. I’ve never made a stuffed animal before (unless you count my original prototype, which was a very simple anglerfish), and I’ve never made any sort of lighting or electronics.

The experience tapped into my doggedness and obsessiveness: once I had the idea of the lemur, I had to pursue it, and I was going to do whatever I needed to make it work. And I knew the outcome wasn’t going to perfect—I just wanted. to execute as well as I could.

Key supplies!

In terms of materials, I used four types of cloth (oops, I accidentally overspent at Mood Fabrics—learned that lesson the hard way), and two colors of thread. Additionally, I used clay (plus paint and gloss) for the eyeballs and nose, as well as armature wire, yarn, and stuffing for the plush’s innards. The sewing was a combination of sewing machine and hand sewing.

The final putting-together of the plush was much more time-consuming than I anticipated—order of operations was important, and I didn’t have an optimal way to cover the wire such that it didn’t get bunched up when I tried to push it into the arms and legs. That was definitely the most challenging part, and something I’d approach differently the next time around. However, when there’s a will (and a chopstick), there’s a way.

Initial sketch
Lemur body pattern

If I had more time to work on this project, and create additional iterations, I would be interested in trying out a few things, including:

  • A larger lemur: This would be to fit the battery pack better, as well as test out on larger lamps and light fixtures
  • Maybe making the head more three-dimensional: Potentially adding the ears and snout as separate items attached via ladder stitch. I think it could be nice if the snout didn’t blend directly into the black nose area, too.
  • Proportions: While the tail is definitely the pièce de resistance, it is totally out of proportion with the lemur’s body. I’d like to try something more consistent. I also think that a striped tail just made of the same fabric as the body (that fuzzy white and black), could be just as effective in its own way.
  • Foot pads: Little black pads to go on the palms of the hands and feet
  • Tighter wire/grip: Currently, the lemur slides down the neck of a lamp unless it’s angled somewhat horizontally. Would tighter wire or some kind of grippy material prevent this?
The outer fabric
Hand-sewing the curvier parts on the subway
Tail with electric wires and armature
Sewing the tail onto the body
The LED circuit
Reversal in progress
The internal wire armature before insertion
There’s nothing like a good book

My hope is for Leo to make people feel safe and secure at night, knowing that if they need to get up when it’s pitch black outside, they won’t have to fumble to turn on a light. And hopefully they’re comforted by his derpy cuteness!

Zai’s Ampers’hand Plush night light

Hi folks! Meet Ampers’hand.

Your friendly night light for small groups of people to stay together in a crowd. As public gatherings and events have had a comeback, getting lost in crowds has also had a larger comeback. Initially thought out as an additional assistive hand for mums with more than two children; I soon realized, music festival go-ers, friend groups, tourists etc could get an extra hand.

I wanted to add a third dimension to an ‘alphabet’ or a sign or a universal symbol for this project. The ‘&’ happened to spark my thought further adding to the ‘pun’

DOES IT LIGHT UP?

Yes, I would like to light it up with a touch sensor so that it blinks every time someone touches the Ampers’hand. But with my limited knowledge with circuits, I could only make it blink.

My intention with the light is to make the users feel at ease and comfortable to be with their close ones.

Materials I used for this project were Foam Stuffing, Cotton cloth, and wire. This also happens to be my first time sewing and using a needle and cloth so it was quite challenging to work my way around a shape this complex.

Due to some difficulties, I had to cut of a certain part of the ‘&’ so that the later stages of folding the cloth inside-out or stuffing or wiring wouldn’t be a problem

For the ease of stuffing, I had to keep multiple openings on the &.

If there’s one think I’d like to change about this, it would be adding multiple LED’s to it for it to feel like a night light in full effect. The wiring ended up getting slightly loose once put in.

Haley’s Blushed Scrub daddy

My Plush Night draws inspiration from my personal collection of stuffed animals. Since they’re not currently with me, I’ve taken it upon myself to create a plush companion featuring built-in LED lights. When envisioning soft, illuminated objects, beds and nights naturally come to mind. People often seek to surround themselves with things they love as they settle in for the night. The ubiquitous smiley face exudes a positive vibe, creating a cheerful atmosphere before I embark on a restful night’s sleep.

Material used: Two red light bulbs, Battery pack, and Soft white blanket for the fabric.

In crafting this plush toy, I decided to utilize a sewing machine, which I hadn’t used in quite some time. Initially, getting started proved a bit challenging, but once I did, I found that it significantly expedited the process and resulted in a neatly defined outline for my plush toy. Additionally, following a conversation with Becky in the last class, I experimented with splitting the inner surface of the pierced sections. This approach proved to be incredibly beneficial, especially when working on the invisible stitch.

Yining Gao’s Negi Plush Night Light

Description

Hateune miku is related to the negi(Allium fistulosum?) because of the song Loituma Girl. Someone made a flash video for this song that miku wave a negi. So I made a negi support stick for miku’s fans.They can wave them in the concert to make them cool and fancy.

The green leaves on the head can glow to make it look like green support stick. And it also very long and stand out.

Material

green and white cotton fabric, cotton, wire, white LED lights, battery pack

Circuit diagram

Progress

Sewing white fabric

Solder circuits

Sewing green fabric

Finish

Other

It can use as cat teaser!!

And you can also use it when you want to go to the bathroom at night!

Angel’s Wings Plush Night Light

A photo of the completed project

My target users are people walking on the road at night, especially children. Walking on the road at night is very dangerous and easily be hit by a car. Therefore, I suggest wearing the night light I designed, which will make the wearer easily visible to drivers. Also, the glowing wings make the one who wears it look like an angel, creating a fairytale mood on a dark night.

Materials: cotton, cotton fabric, small light bulbs, wires and a battery pack.

For this project, I tried sewing LED lights into a plush toy to make the toy glow. I also tried sewing the straps into the wings. I think stuffing the cotton into the straps and sewing the straps into the body was the hardest. If I had more time, I would have strung more lights around the wings to make the outline of the wings glow.

Process:

1. First, connect the positive terminal of the LED to the 100 ohm resistor, then connect six LEDs in parallel.

2. Cut the pattern and iron the fabric to make it flat

3. Sew the straps and fill them with cotton.

4. Put the LED light and the battery box into the plush toy, sew the straps into the plush toy, and test the LED light to see if it lights up.

5. Seal all edges with white thread.