Everywhere I turn, I see emojis this year, from pillows to t-shirts and of course on social media. This Smiley Heart Emoji costume is super cute and it’s easy to make for anyone. Use more fabric for adults, less fabric for kids to create a truly custom costume. The other bonus is this costume is comfortable and washable so if you spill lots of candy on it, no worries, because KuninEco-fiPlus™ Premiumfelt washes up great!
Making this costume will take you about an hour plus dry time for the fabric paint. If you don’t want to wait for the fabric paint to dry, use additional Kunin Eco-Fi felt for the heart eyes and mouth of the emoji and glue the pieces on. I use this technique on the Poop Emoji Costume I shared on my YouTube channel earlier this week: DIY Poop Emoji Costume.
TIP: If using Tulip Soft Fabric Paint to paint the hearts and mouth, allow 2 days for the paint to dry. Kunin Eco-fiPlus™ Premiumfelt is made from recycled plastic bottles so there are no fibers to actually absorb the paint (unlike cotton). The paint sits on top of the felt and has to dry onto itself, which seems to take around 36 to 48 hours when applying the paint as thick as I did.
Here’s how to make a Heart Smiley Emoji Costume in about an hour:
- You’ll need 2 yards of felt for a kid costume and 3 yards of felt for an adult costume. The felt comes folded in half – keep it folded when measuring (they’ll do this at the store if you buy it at Walmart or another retailer).
- Cut the length of felt in half to two 1 yard x 72″ wide pieces (1.3 yard by 72″ wide for adult size). Layer these two pieces one on top of the other.
- Fold the felt in half. Then fold it in half again, the other way (result is folded in quarters).
- Cut a curve from one open corner of the folded felt to the other open corner so that when you unfold it, you have a circle. Practice with a small piece of paper before cutting into the felt. I use Westcott ExtremEdge Adjustable Tension Titanium Bonded Scissors, 8″ Bent because they can cut through all these layers of felt at once. You might need to cut one circle and then use it as a template for the cutting the second.
- Unfold the felt circles, leaving them stacked.
- Place pins along the edges that will be glued, usually at the shoulders and under the arms. Leave at least an 18″ opening for the head and 12″ per arm. Leave the bottom open.
- Apply Aleene’s Felt and Foam Tacky Glue to the shoulders and under the arms to seal. Allow to dry for an hour.
- Insert a plastic garbage bag or plastic sheeting inside between the layers of felt. This will stop the paint from seeping through from the front layer in case you put too much on the felt.
- Draw the heart eyes and mouth with a marker. I sketched it out roughly so I could get a nice shape on each.
- Paint the heart eyes with Tulip Soft Fabric paint in Red and the mouth with Tulip Soft Fabric Paint in Black using a Tulip Fabric Paint Brush. Allow to dry for 36 to 48 hours.
Tip: To prevent fabric paint from leaking through to the back of the costume, insert a plastic bag between the layers before painting.
Watch this handy dandy video to see how we put the costume together start to finish:
Supplies:
- Kunin Eco-fiPlus™ Premiumfelt, by-the-yard, in Yellow – 2 yards (child) or 3 yards (adult) – available at Walmart
- Tulip Soft Fabric Paint in Black and Red
- Tulip Fabric Paint Brushes
- Aleene’s Felt and Foam Tacky Glue
- Pins
- Plastic Sheeting or Trash Bags
- Westcott ExtremEdge Adjustable Tension Titanium Bonded Scissors, 8″ Bent
- Permanent Marker
Which Emoji would you create a costume for?
For more crafty ideas like this, visit my blog Just JP, where I just shared how to make a Sharknado costume and Poop Emoji costume, both using Kunin Eco-fiPlus™ Premiumfelt!
You can now find an expanded color line of Kunin Eco-fi Classicfelt; Eco-fiPlus™ Premiumfelt and ShaggiChic non-wovens fabrics in cut by the yard at your local Walmart; please inquire as to what is available in your area.
