Cosplay World  is filled with striking images of costume play from around the world. This definitive look at the global phenomenon known as “cosplay” examines its evolution from the fringes of society to the spotlight of modern culture. For over 100 years, men and women around the world have been dressing up as their favorite characters from movies, games, comics, TV, and books. Beginning as a curiosity and hobby for...

The original Adafruit Motorshield kit is one of our most beloved kits, which is why we decided to make something even better. We have upgraded the shield kit to make the bestest, easiest way to drive DC and Stepper motors. This shield will make quick work of your next robotics project! We kept the ability to drive up to 4 DC motors or 2 stepper motors, but added many improvements: Instead of a L293D darlington driver, we now have the TB6612...

Standard HD44780 LCDs are useful for creating standalone projects. 16 characters wide, 2 rowsWhite text on blue backgroundConnection port is 0.1" pitch, single row for easy breadboarding and wiringPins are documented on the back of the LCD to assist in wiring it upSingle LED backlight included can be dimmed easily with a resistor or PWM and uses much less power than LCD with EL (electroluminescent) backlightsCan be fully controlled with...

This servo rotates fully forward or backwards instead of moving to a position. You can use any servo code, hardware or library to control these servos. Good for making simple moving robots. Comes with four different horns, as shown. To control with an Arduino, we suggest connecting the control wire to pin 9 or 10 and using the Servo library included with the Arduino IDE (see here for an example sketch). Position "90" (1.5ms pulse)...

Tiny little servo can rotate approximately 180 degrees (90 in each direction), and works just like the standard kinds you're used to but smaller . You can use any servo code, hardware or library to control these servos. Good for beginners who want to make stuff move without building a motor controller with feedback & gear box, especially since it will fit in small places. Of course, its not nearly as strong as a standard servo. Works...

Your power supply problems just got SOLVED! This little circuit board may look tiny but inside is a high efficiency DC/DC step-down converter which can output up to 3 Amp at 5V without the need of any heat-sink or forced cooling. (It does get a bit toasty at 3A though) UBEC stands for "universal battery eliminator circuit" and this UBEC is designed to replace a 5V supply in RC planes and 'copters but its also great for any kind of...

This tiny coin cell battery holder is ideal for small portable or wearable projects. It holds two 20mm coin cells (2032 are the most popular size) in series to generate 6V nominal. (If you want only 3V, we suggest sticking a crumpled piece of tin foil in one of the slots.) 20mm coin cells are popular as they are used in keychain lights, so they are easy to get, and fairly low cost. They tend to have about 220mAh capacity so this holder would...

A small, portable inverter for EL wire. Powers off of 2 AA batteries (not included!), it can drive 1 to 8 feet (about 2.5m) of our high-brightness EL wire for 10 hours. There is a button for selecting steady/blink/off modes. There's a removable clip on the back. Comes with a 2.5mm pitch female JST connector To connect a piece EL wire to this, you'll want a male connector wire The EL inverter requires a 'load' to stabilize itself....

This battery holder is by far the easiest way to add a battery to a small wearable project. By coincidence, there are two small 1mm diameter holes in the metal connection tabs, just large enough for a #5 or smaller needle to pass through. One tab connects to common ground (negative) and the other tab is +3 Volts. This holder is meant to be used with Lithium CR2032 (20mm diameter, 3.2mm thick) sized coin batteries. These are almost always 3V at...

By popular demand, we now have a handy extension cord for all of our JST-terminated battery packs (such as our LiIon/LiPoly and 3xAAA holders). One end has a JST-PH socket, and the other end has a matching plug. Between the two, 500mm of color coded wire. Handy for wearable projects where you may want the battery pack far from your Flora but useful in many other situations where you need a little more space. JST-PH Battery Extension Cable -...

Squeeze once to turn on, squeeze again to turn off! This clicky switch makes a great power switch or mode toggler. We like this switch because it's easy to embed in a seam for easily powering up/off wearable and fabric projects. Can handle up to 14V and 2 Amps! This is a really satisfying switch. As of May 20th, the dimensions of this switch are: Length of wires: 190mm / 7.5" Dimensions of body: 16mm x 15mm x 6mm / 0.6" x 0.6" x 0.2" Weight: 4.4g

This battery holder connects 3 AAA batteries together in series for powering all kinds of projects. We spec'd these out because the box is slim, and 3 AAA's add up to about 3.3-4.5V, a very similar range to Lithium Ion/polymer (Li-Ion) batteries and have an on-off switch. That makes them ideal for use with 3.3V projects that have a 2-pin JST connector meant for one of our Li-Ion/Poly batteries. (Of course, you can't recharge them...

A really tiny portable inverter for EL wire. Powers off of a single CR2032 coin battery (not included!), it can drive up to 50cm / 20 inches of our high-brightness EL wire or 10cm x 1cm long piece of EL tape for 3 hours (or longer if the EL wire is less than 50cm long). There is a button for selecting steady/blink/off modes. Comes with a 2.5mm pitch female JST connector. Like all inverters we've used, the 2000 Hz oscillation is slightly...

Yow! These things are super powerful. 1/2" diameter, 3/16" thick discs, south side is marked with a red line. Great for use with your SpokePOV Kit. If you have an aluminium frame, use tape/foamstickytape to attach it.

Save your scissors! Instead of using your nice shears (and dulling them) or wire cutters (not right for the job) - use these super scissors. They're meant for engineering/maker cutting jobs such as cutting plastic, leather, copper sheet/wire, even coaxial & ribbon cables. There's a notched flat section and a grippy tooth section. Notched (front) section capabilities: Nylon/Kevlar fiber: Various typesCopper braided wire: Various...

These magnetic pin backs have two pieces: a metal bar with adhesive strip and a plastic piece with two strong rare-earth magnets. Affix the metal bar to your FLORA projects-- it's just the right size! Then attach your FLORA project to any garment without poking holes in your clothes. The magnets are strong enough to hold up even a hefty circuit! We recommend against soldering/brazing/welding to any part of the magnetic pin back, as the...

Keep your power source safe and toasty in these waterproof 2xAA battery holders. They're just like classic switched battery holders, but designed for survival! The case has a rubber gasket around the edge of the case (its black and hard to see in the photos but it is there) and attaches together with 4 machine screws. What we like about this design is that the hexnuts are captive in one side and you can assemble/disassemble as many times as you...

A really tiny portable inverter for EL wire. Powers off of a single AAA battery (not included!), it can drive up to 50cm / 20 inches of our high-brightness EL wire or 10cm x 1cm long piece of EL tape for 3 hours (or longer if the EL wire is less than 50cm long). There is a switch on the side for selecting steady/blink/off modes. Comes with a 2.5mm pitch female JST connector. Like all EL inverters we've used, the 2000 Hz oscillation is...

Keep your power source safe and toasty in these waterproof 3xAA battery holders. They're just like classic switched battery holders, but designed for survival! The case has a rubber gasket around the edge of the case (its black and hard to see in the photos but it is there) and attaches together with 4 machine screws. What we like about this design is that the hexnuts are captive in one side and you can assemble/disassemble as many times as you...

Mighty needles, sew like the wind! This needle set is the only one you'll need for any sort of hand sewing, especially using our conductive thread and wearable electronics parts. Each pack contains 20 gold-eye sharps, with eye sizes ranging from #3 (1.75" long) to #9 (1.35" long). The two #3's (the largest) are too large to pass through the sewable coin cell holder but otherwise are easy to use and thread. The four #9's...

Push once to turn one side on, push again to turn the other side on! It's basically a push-button toggle switch that connects and disconnects the middle pin from either of the two side switches with every click. This clicky switch makes a great power switch or mode toggler. We like this switch because it's easy to embed in a seam for easily powering up/off multi-wire wearable and fabric projects. Can reliably handle up to 3A and up to...

This is a little battery pack for our Litex LED ribbons. No LEDs are included, but the battery pack is very nice and you can cut the LED ribbon in half and then use the extra battery pack to power the excess. Comes with two CR1220 batteries, we also carry extras if you need them! Litex Spare Battery Case (4:55) Note: Battery case may come grey or black

We've got battery holders for all sorts of needs and projects! Waterproof? Here ya go. With an on/off switch? Easy peasy. Here's our latest addition in classy Adafruit black: 4 x AA Battery Holder with Premium Header Wires . What's so special about 'em? Well you can plug them right into a breadboard! No need to fight with those skinny stripped wires you normally get. Of course, you can always still solder them into a PCB. 4 x AA...

We've got battery holders for all sorts of needs and projects! Waterproof? Here ya go. With an on/off switch? Easy peasy. Here's our latest addition in classy Adafruit black:  2 x AA Battery Holder with Premium Header Wires . What's so special about 'em? Well you can plug them right into a breadboard! No need to fight with those skinny stripped wires you normally get. Of course, you can always still solder them...

What do you get when you power a layer of liquid crystal material sandwiched between two sheets of glass? A  Liquid Crystal Light Valve (a.k.a a LCD Controllable Black-out Panel)! They're often used for electric welding helmets because they can protect the welder's eyes from the bright sparks. Or – if you aren't a welder – they can be used to provide a "reveal" effect for your...

What do you get when you power a layer of liquid crystal material sandwiched between two sheets of glass? A  Liquid Crystal Light Valve (a.k.a a LCD Controllable Black-out Panel)! They're often used for electric welding helmets because they can protect the welder's eyes from the bright sparks. Or – if you aren't a welder – they can be used to provide a "reveal" effect for your...

This little Silver-color Pin with Foam Adhesive is the perfect way to attach any PCB or small component to cloth material.  The adhesive forms a solid but not permanent bond for a strong reliable hold. The pin also has a handy little locking mechanism to keep the pin from unlatching from friction. If you are working with wearables be sure to keep a handful of these around - they pair especially well with the Flora, Gemma, and Circuit...

1,000 Incredible Costume and Cosplay Ideas provides a broad and detailed glimpse into the ingenious artistry and attention to detail behind some of the most fabulous costumes you can find. Featuring costumes from popular convention-goers to professional craftsman, this stunning, photo-filled book by Joey Marsocci and Allison DeBlasio of Dr. Grymm Laboratories walks you through scads of your favorite characters as imagined and created by...