DIY Video Game Controller Couch Pillow That Actually Works

We’ve featured a lot of homegrown video game controllers over the years, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen one disguised as a couch pillow. Or, maybe it’s the other way around; maybe the couch pillow is disguised as a video game controller. Either way, you’ll play the softest, coziest game ever when you choose to use this controller. Obviously this wouldn’t be for the hardcore gamer, but just for fun, this could definitely be the geekiest pillow you ever make.

This video game controller plush pillow was created by Becky over at Adafruit. When you want to use it, you just plug in your pillow. When you don’t, you just unplug it and use it as an ordinary throw pillow. This would definitely look nicer in my living room than the controllers that are usually tossed around everywhere.

Matt at MAKE described this touch sensitive USB controller best when he wrote, “At the core of the project is the Adafruit Flora, which is connected to eight pads of conductive fabric. The Flora uses Modern Device’s Capacitive Sensing Library to read whether or not you’re touching the buttons and passes the appropriate keystroke along to your computer via USB.”

In other words, the video game controller pillow acts like a computer keyboard. You can use it to play old school games on emulator sites online. There are no batteries, and this would be a great controller for little kids who might be too young and rough for a standard controller. If you want to make this for yourself, you can watch the video below and click over to Adafruit Learning System. There you’ll find a 4 page PDF, the pattern, the circuit diagram and even the illustrator file if you want to make any changes to the pillow itself. If you like to sew, and if you’re looking for a geeky weekend project, here ya go!