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How-to: Faux Neon Sign

April 29, 2013 1 Comment

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

A few weeks ago, it struck me that there must be some way to DIY a neon sign. I found this great video showing how real neon signs are made, which was really inspiring, but advanced glass blowing skills required are far beyond my skill set. Then I discovered this article sharing how to make a fake neon sign designed for a student science fair project. Forming the neon tubing into a shape like the lightning bolt above is the hard part, even with the article I found. Lucky for you, I spent a bunch of time figuring out tips for making the neon tubing and an easy way to mold the tubing into shapes and letters.

Supplies

clear aquarium tubing (like this)
2 liquid ink highlighters
hammer
small nail
black canvas panel (like this)
drill
16 gauge aluminum crafting wire
jewelry pliers
wire cutters
scissors
regular pliers
squirt bottle
sink
hot glue gun & glue

Directions

1. De-ink your highlighters

Phase one of this project is to carefully disassemble two liquid ink highlighters.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Hammer your nail into the liquid chamber of the pen. You’ll feel a little less resistance from the plastic when you’re through the body of the pen.

Note: I spent a TON of time figuring out how to do this, and I promise you that at least for the Pentel 24/7 highlighters I used, that plastic is crazy strong. I de-inked 5 total highlighters, and none of the pens exploded or even cracked in the process. There are some liquid ink highlighters whose design is different than the ones I used, but most of what I could find appear to be of the same design as the Pentel ones I used. 

Remove the nail using pliers. To double-check that the nail was all the way into the pen, check the nail’s tip – there will be a little bit of ink on it. Next, remove the tip of the highlighter and its plastic casing with pliers. Then, with a jewelry pliers, pull out the little wick, if your highlighter has one. Be careful, as soon as the wick is out, the ink will be pourable from the highlighter.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Pour the highlighter ink into a squeeze bottle. De-ink another pen and add its ink to the bottle. Top with water.

2. Prepare and fill your tubing 

Shove wire into aquarium tubing that’s the length needed for your sign’s design plus 5-6 inches.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Holding both ends of the tubing/wire vertically, preferably over a sink, fit the aquarium tubing around the opening of the squeeze bottle. Fill the tube in a steady stream all at once, avoiding air bubbles as much as you can. Leave some space at the ends of the tube.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Seal each end of your tubing with hot glue.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

3. Mount the tubing on a black canvas panel

Lay a stencil or draw the design of your sign on a black canvas panel.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Drill holes at each bend in your design. Clip a 3-inch piece of wire for each hole. My lightning bolt has 11 points, so I drilled 11 holes and cut 11 pieces of wire.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Fold a piece of wire over as shown an insert it in one of the canvas holes. Use it to attach the tubing to the canvas, folding down the ends of the wire on the back of the canvas at a 90 degree angle to keep it and the tubing in place.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Keep attaching the tubing to the canvas like this, bending the wired tubing at each angle.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

The last step is getting rid of the excess tubing. Working over a sink, snip away the hot glue plug, cut the excess tubing, pinch out a little bit of the highlighter ink, and seal the end back up with hot glue. You’re going to want essentially zero air inside the tubing. The air bubble will float upward within the tube when you go to hang it up.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Since my lightning bolt is a closed shape, I secured the two tube ends with a single wire. If your design is a phrase or something that doesn’t loop, you can secure the tubing as normal.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

Really the hardest part of this project is keeping air out of your tubing and forming the words. My biggest tips are:

  • Be careful as you disassemble your highlighters to avoid ink spillage.
  • Use a separate bit of tubing for each word if you’re creating a phrase for your sign.
  • Before I realized it made sense to put the wire inside the tubing, I played with hot gluing the tubing to wire bent into a shape. That doesn’t work – the hot glue and the wire just don’t stay glued to the tubing.
  • Don’t get too crazy when bending your tubing into shape. You can break the hot glue seal and lose all your ink.

How-to: Faux Neon Sign at HandsOccupied.com

PS: If you want this to glow at night, all you’ll need to do is shine a black light on it and it’ll shine brightly. The advantage of the highlighter, though, is that it shines fluorescently even in regular daylight!

Filed Under: Home Decor, How-to Tagged With: faux neon, highlighter, lightning bolt, neon, sign

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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  1. Science Meets Crafts Program Kit: Faux Neon Sign | Library as Incubator Project says:
    November 21, 2013 at 7:05 am

    […] out How to Make a Faux Neon Sign for the step by step on making these one at a time. In the tutorial on my blog, I did a couple […]

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

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Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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