Conductive fabrics and threads can be plated without having to first coat them in conductive paint because they are already conductive! It can be a great way to make a conductive fabric solderable to then make a robust solder connection to a soft fabric circuit.
Here are some examples of different conductive fabrics and threads and how they plate.
For more instructions on electroplating see the following two posts:
Plated fabric traces >> http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=2977
Electroplating >> http://web.media.mit.edu/~plusea/?p=554
Plated Cobaltex conductive fabric:
Plated stretch conductive fabric:
Plated conductive thread 4ply silverized nylon:
Electroplated steel and wool yarn blend:
Plated steel and wool yarn blend knit:
Soft&safe conductive fabric before and after plating:
Plated Veilshield conductive fabric:
Red leather coated in carbon paint and then plated:
Plating Setup at DRL/UdK Berlin
Hello! i’m marier from Chile. i’m doing mine thesis in fashion and textile design and i was wonder if you can help us because we’re doing an investigation about electroplated fabrics and we found your site. we are having some problems with the method, would you mind share with us the specifics in this experimentation, specially the one that you work in leather and conductive paint.
thanks 🙂