THIS IS A WORK-IN-PROGRESS, AND I’LL UPDATE AS I GO ALONG

I’ve been thinking for a while about making my own starcloth. partly because i’m trying to save money, partly because i wanted one a different size to the standard (i wanted it to work on my deckstand – currently got the 1.7m ultimax, but want to get the 1.2m middle sections for use at smaller gigs) as well as on the massive table at my main residency.

so i ordered a couple of sets of LED lights from ebay (£13 for 2x 10m sets) and went to the market in our local shopping centre to have a look for some material.

in the end, i went for 4 metres of black material a bit like my smart work trousers, it wasnt too thick, but it was thick enough to completely hide all the cabling inside. cost me £4 per metre (so £16)

the plan was to cut small holes, poke the LED through then cover the led in hot glue to attach it to the back of the cloth. one set of lights per “side”, then fold it in half and use velcro to attach the two sides together.

i got a set of white LEDs and a set of multicoloured LEDs. both controlled by a button press on a box at the end of the cable run (each press cycles it through a set of 8 preset patterns).

ingredients:
1x10m white LEDs (£6.50)
1x10m multicolour LEDs (£6.50)
4m black cloth (£16)
strips of stick backed velcro (not bought this yet)

tools
hot glue gun (already owned, but cost about £6)
3 packs of glue sticks (£6)
pair of sharp scissors

so far it has cost me £35 for a double-sided 2m length starcloth that can be opened out to a single sided 4m one (albeit one half white, one multicoloured)

the material (side 1) with the LEDs laid out on top

one of the LEDs attached to the back with hot glue

one of the LEDs that have been glued down poking through the other side

a few of the glued LEDs

after the first half is completed and the lights turned out

and here it is in action cycling through the various patterns…

(it is on the table, so doesnt show the full length – i’ll be properly road-testing it this weekend)

tonight (hopefully), i will be mostly attaching the second set of LEDs and getting some velcro to stick it all together.

future plans include wiring the two sets together to use one control box with a switch on to select which is in use (or both) all powered from one mains socket. also i want to get the edges sewn up neater and some way of attaching it to things (belt loops round the top or something

UPDATE – DAY 2.

ok, didnt get much time last night to work on it, so only managed to finish off the first set of lights.

sorry for the piss-poor photos, damned phone doesnt have a flash.

front of side 1

and the back. all lights glued in, with the links between each light glued down to make it a bit more secure and robust

front of side 1 in action when laid out on the sofa

off out tonight, so not likely to be doing anything with it, but hopefully will do some more on friday/saturday before i get to use it. at the very least, ill attach the velcro to make it nice and neat when doubled over. should hopefully be getting some decent photos of my whole rig for my new website this weekend.

and heres the second set of lights ready to go in (these ones are multicolour instead of plain white)