We are big fans of ugly sweater wearing throughout the holiday season and believe everyone should have at least one in their arsenal (we have many). I mean, if you show up to a Christmas party just wearing your regular clothes then you’re not having as much fun as you could be. They were front and centre at our Christmas party, and our photo wall was bumpin’ as a result.
There are a ton of cool Christmas sweaters you can buy these days (like this one and this one), and we have many of these. So, this year we wanted to create Christmas sweaters that no one else would have. Also, call us a little bit vain (and we are a touch), we wanted to wear an “ugly” Christmas sweater but also look super cute. The struggle is real guys, and we wanted to come out on top. So, we each took a quintessential Christmas decoration and made it the theme of our sweater. I chose bows, Vanessa chose garlands and Rachel chose tinsel. And not to brag, bu the end result was friggin’ fab.
For any of the sweaters:
- Sweater. Rachel used a cardigan, Vanessa used a V-neck and I used a turtleneck. We all thrifted ours from Value Village, which we recommend because you’ll be completely reinventing it!
- Glue gun and PLENTY of refills
For Alyssa’s sweater:
- Bows, big and small
For Rachel’s sweater:
- Tinsel, either all one colour or multi-colour
For Vanessa’s sweater:
- Garland, she used two kinds, one big and one small (the classic beaded kind)
- Ribbon, she used two kinds, one was a chunkier gold one and the other was a classic red ribbon
- Mini bows (for the collar)
For Alyssa’s sweater:
This one is simple but time consuming: literally glue bows all over the sweater, alternating between big and small bows. A couple notes to consider:
- The sweater will be tough to put on if you cover the entire sweater, so leave the back empty
- The arms on a sweater naturally bunch up, so if you decide to cover the sweater without any blank space then the sleeves will be longer than anticipated (because the sweater gets stuff covered in glue).
- Covering the sweater entirely in bows, without any blank space to let the fabric shine through, costed about $50
For Rachel’s sweater:
This one is also pretty simple: wrap tinsel around the sweater, gluing along the way. Rachel started on one side of the cardigan zipper and worked her way around.
For Vanessa’s sweater:
The inspiration was to create a Cosby-style sweater using Christmas accessories. Vanessa just covered the front, but you can definitely cover the whole sweater.
- Start by placing the largest garland strings in vertical strips, glue them on.
- Continue with the second biggest piece, glueing on one side of the largest garland (again in vertical strips).
- Fill in with the two smallest garlands
NOTE regarding the sleeves: when your sweater is laying flat, the insides of the sleeves will be on display. Keep this in mind when decorating and focus on the outer portions of the sleeves and then turns the sleeves inwards to continue decorating.
You’ll want a drink to sip on during the DIY process. May we suggest our chestnut old fashioned? Grab the recipe here.
This playlist is filled with classic and nostalgic Christmas tunes for crafting away.