The invention relates to a light emitting device comprising a light emitting element (100) and a light guide (101) arranged on a textile substrate (102). The light guide has a back surface (103) facing the textile substrate, a front surface (104) facing away from the substrate, and a light receiving surface (105). The light emitting element (100) is arranged such that at least part of the light emitted by the light emitting element (100) is coupled into the light guide (101) through the light receiving surface (105), and is subject to total internal reflection in the light guide (101). Furthermore, the light guide (101) is arranged such that at least part of the light coupled into the light guide (101) exits the light guide (101) through the front surface (104) and/or the back surface (103). By arranging a light guide in conjunction with a light emitting element, the emitted light is distributed within the light guide and exits the light guide from an area that is larger than that of the light emitting element. Hence, a larger portion of the textile substrate can be made luminous without the need for using a more dense pattern of light emitting elements.