Reflection

From this project I learned a lot of lessons with working with Velostat and cloth circuits.  With Velostat specifically, in order to use it optimally one needs to ensure that no conductive zones form due to pressure on the Velostat due to assembly.

In my case, two situations occurred which caused these conductive zones.  First, it may be best to not have any thread or needle pass through the material.  By sewing on the Velostat these conductive zones form.

The second thing is that a combination of hard and soft surfaces behind the Velostat made some regions easier to conduct than others on pressure.  Ensuring constant hardness of the material surrounding the Velostat would have made for a more effective joystick.

I will definitely revisit this project in the near future, especially after completion of the Arduino Micro, but for now, this is just a first version prototype.