Lighting Tips and Techniques

Currently we don’t include lighting in our kits because we feel that people may already have lighting that they can use. By its very nature this bespoke kit means every display has the potential to be different and so lighting for one person may not be desirable or suitable for another. "However due to popular demand we are adding some lighting options during the latter part of 2025. These will include our own specified string lights and line out lighting options. Kits will be available both with and without lights". This gives you the freedom to choose what lights you want to add, the colours and styles. It means that you can utilise what you have and change them at your will or buy new sets from ourselves. Here are some guidelines on our prefered lighting types.

LOW VOLTAGE ONLY
Only use low voltage string lights. These are light in weight and slender enough to fit inside the cable clips. Don’t attempt to clip more than one string with a single clip. For information on using clips see the Techniques page.

LED LIGHT SPACING

With Festive Frames we are trying to dress the sculptures in the most efficient and time-consuming way. It therefore makes sense to use more densely spaced light strings. However sometimes the colour you want is not available so you will need to use what you can get. In this respect we refer to the light spacing as being the distance between each LED light along the stribg.
Here are two popular formats.

We found the best format to be lights spaced at 2.5 to 3cm. Example 28.77mtr length = 960 Leds. These give a great density for their length.

 

Products such as Premier Decorations Treebrights or Noma Decor Tree Lights are ideal.  

If the colour you have or require is not available in 2.5cm spacing then the most popular string lights are in 7 to 8cm spacing. This was the standard spacing for lights upto a few years ago and will work OK.
If you use these you will need to increase the length in the instruction manual provided accordingly so your light density achieves the same result.
For example. 1 x 25 mtr length 1000 Led at 2.5cm spacing = 3 x 25 mtr length (75mtrs) 1000leds at 7.5cm spacing.

The closer spacing is prefered because it means you have 1/3rd the length of cable to dress. 

LINEOUT LIGHTING

Throughout the instructions you will hear us refering to lineout LED's or ribbon LED's. These are strings that have the LED fixed directly to the cable rather than off to the side at 90 degrees. Often refered to as rice lights. This makes them a more accurate option when it comes to lining out. If you use normal string lights to line out the effect won't be as sharp as it is with ribbon LED's. An example of these light are the Premier Decorations Flexibrights. You probably only need one set of 35 mtrs (1000LEDs) for any of the sculptures.

These flexibright lights come in various lengths. We prefer the 35mtr version that has 1000 Leds. They are ideal for lining out or smaller details because  they create a sharper line than normal string lights do. Cool white is an excellent colour and one set is  generally enough for even the largest sculpture. They are best clipped on to the frame rather than wrapped as this keeps their leds in a straighter more uniformed line.

TIP: When using lineout Leds they work better when they are a different colour to the adjacent lights.

HANDLING AND CARE

Taking time to prepare and store your string lights will not only make the job easier next year. It will also help to keep them in good condition.
The best way to store and handle string lights is to form a ball as seen in the image below. With the power supply on the outside and the end of the lit length in the centre.

When dressing lights always have them switched on. This not only tells you they are working but also indicates if you damage any during the process. The same applies when you come to take them off.
When removing lights from the framework it can speed the process up by removing the occasional pole. However only do this if you are certain that there is only one set of lights on that particular pole. If there are more than one set it can lead to a tangle.

MORE LIGHTING TIPS

TIP: If unraveling a tangle in stringlights don't pull the cable to untangle. this will only tighten the tangle and damage the lights. Shake tangles loose carefully and avoid tightening where possible. You may need to occasionally pass the ball you are forming through a loop in the tangle to resolve it.

TIP:  Whenever possible use dark green or black cable lights. They are not seen in the dark as much as white or clear cable.

TIP: The ideal length of lights are 35mtrs or less. This is because the full ball of lights will be manageable when passing around your
sculpture while dressing. Longer lengths make the task harder.

TIP: Spend time working out your lighting to make the best impact. This is crucially important. The dressing of the lights nearly always takes longer than the building of the framework. Aim for 8 to 10cm spacing at least. In this instance we refer to the spacing as being the distance between light strings when dressed on the sculpture. This spacing will give you an acceptable coverage for larger infill areas. If using more spaced out LED strings as mentioned above use a tighter spacing. Having your lights fitted as neatly as possible will make for a much better display.

Tip: Define areas of your sculpture with different colour lights. Having all the lights in one colour works fine for things like arches or the Polar Bear however for sculptures such as the open top car or similar it is better to define areas in different colours.

TIP: Attach a marker of some sort such as a cable tie to the last LED on the string. This will help you to find the end when it comes to removing the lights. You remove the lights from this end so the ball you create is ready for next season.

TIP: Make a note of the order that you dressed the light strings. When removing them at the end of the season do them in a reverse order

Lighting Tips

 

 Spacing lights on the framework.