DIY Ugly Christmas Sweater

By Aileen Allen 
on December 16th, 2015
In: Entertaining

I remember just three or four years ago, it was easy to find lots of cheap, tacky Christmas sweaters at your local thrift store. Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it’s a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I’m not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that’s supposed to be “ugly,” I decided to DIY one this year! To take my outfit to the next level, I also made a sweater sleeve for a bottle of wine and bedazzled it with matching Christmas paraphernalia. After all, what’s more likely to win you a contest than a little bribery, in the form of wine?

Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it's a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I'm not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that's supposed to be  You will need:

  • A plain sweater with sleeves that are about the same diameter as a bottle of wine (you could even use a tall, thick sock).
  • A variety of small Christmas-y items: gift bows, pom poms, ornaments, etc.
  • Scissors, a needle, thread, and yarn.

Lay your wine bottle on top of one sleeve, leaving the cuff at the top. With your scissors, cut the sleeve off at a straight line, so the cut edge is parallel to the cuff. 

Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it's a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I'm not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that's supposed to be

Turn the sleeve inside out and stitch it up with some yarn (matching or contrasting).

Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it's a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I'm not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that's supposed to be

Flip the sleeve back so the finished side is out. Stitch on a mix of your mini Christmas decorations, using matching thread.

Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it's a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I'm not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that's supposed to be

Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it's a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I'm not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that's supposed to be

Slip the wine bottle in and flip the cuff down, so just the top of the bottle is showing. Tie a thick, chunky piece of yarn around the neck, to secure it.

Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it's a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I'm not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that's supposed to be

Voila! Your wine bottle is all decked out in an ugly Christmas sweater. Now, all you have to do is make yourself a matching sweater, by stitching similar items onto a plain sweater you already own.

Now, with ugly Christmas sweater contests becoming a common tradition around the holidays, it's a lot harder to find cheap options. And since I'm not particularly excited about spending $25 on a sweater that's supposed to be

The other nice thing about adding your own Christmas embellishments to a plain sweater is that once the holidays are over, you can remove them all, so you don’t end up with a sweater that you’ll never wear again.