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Get Ugly Christmas Sweater Ready!

DIY Dec 12, 2022

With the holiday season approaching, everyone is starting to plan their seasonal celebrations, including ugly Christmas sweater parties. These party planners and their guests will need the perfect ugly Christmas sweatshirts and hoodies to wear to these festivities. While the demand for ugly Christmas apparel gives you the ideal opportunity to show off your DIY skills, you might be unsure how to get started. That's why we've created this guide to give you some DIY ugly Christmas sweatshirt inspiration.

Hoodies and Sweatshirts in Holiday Colors

To create the perfect ugly Christmas sweatshirt, you need the right canvas as the base of your creation! Check out these sweatshirts and hoodies in popular holiday colors:

All of our blank sweatshirts and hoodies are durable enough to withstand multiple washings, and they're soft and cozy, so ugly Christmas sweatshirt fans will enjoy wearing them.

Holiday Movie Quotes

The best ugly Christmas sweaters and sweatshirts are humorous. You can make a funny ugly Christmas sweatshirt or hoodie by using iron-on letters to add holiday movie quotes. Here are some memorable and humorous holiday movie quotes:

  • "Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins," from "Elf"
  • "You can mess with a lot of things, but don't mess with a kid on Christmas," from "Home Alone 2"
  • "Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas!" from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"
  • "Holiday who-be what-ee?" from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
  • "You'll shoot your eye out, kid." from "A Christmas Story"

These quotes are sure to appeal to movie buffs and ugly Christmas sweater enthusiasts alike.

Holiday SVG Files

Holiday SVG files make it easy to add graphics like Santa Claus, reindeer, and snowflakes to your DIY cute, tacky Christmas sweater. If you're unfamiliar, SVG stands for "scalable vector graphic." SVG files are also known as "cut files" because you can use a personal cutting machine, such as a Silhouette or Cricut to cut them out. Many creators use SVG files to make iron-on designs. Here are the steps for turning an SVG file into an iron-on design:

  • Select the SVG you want to use.
  • Download the SVG file.
  • Open the SVG file in your cutting machine software.
  • Flip the design horizontally in your program so it looks like it's backward.
  • Place the vinyl on your cutting machine with the shiny side face down on the mat.
  • Use your cutting machine to cut the SVG design onto the vinyl.
  • After the entire design is on the vinyl, remove any extra vinyl from the carrier sheet that you don't want to adhere to your sweatshirt or hoodie.
  • Place the iron-on design exactly where you want it on the sweatshirt.
  • Place a Teflon sheet or piece of parchment paper on top of the vinyl to prevent your iron from melting it.
  • Use an iron or press machine to apply the design.

Several websites provide free SVG files, and they're easy to find by simply Googling "free SVG designs" or "free SVG files." However, if you're making ugly Christmas sweatshirts and hoodies, you need to check website guidelines regarding commercial use. Some websites require you to license any files you plan to use on products intended for sale.

If you want to avoid the licensing issue, you can create your own SVG files using a graphics editor such as Adobe Illustrator. Here's how:

  • Upload the high-resolution image you want to use into your graphics editor.
  • Select the image file, then resize the image on the canvas.
  • Select the image trace dropdown, and choose the number of colors in your image.
  • On the top toolbar, click "Expand."
  • Select "Edit > Ungroup."
  • Remove whatever you don't want to keep in the image by clicking those parts, then clicking "Delete."
  • Combine all like colors by selecting a color, then going to "Select > Same > Fill."
  • If you want to add text to the design, type out your text.
  • Change the font by selecting it from the "Font" dropdown menu.
  • Go to "Object > Expand."
  • Merge any visible cut lines if your text overlaps.
  • Position the text where you want it.
  • Save the file by going to "File > Save As > SVG."

After you save your file, you can use your cutting machine to turn it into a vinyl transfer and apply it to your ugly Christmas sweatshirt.

Holiday Decorations for DIY Ugly Christmas Sweatshirt Inspiration

For a really clever DIY ugly Christmas sweater or sweatshirt, you can decorate your blank top with items from a dollar store or craft store. Transform sweatshirts and hoodies into wearable Christmas trees by adding:

  • Pom poms
  • Garland
  • Ornaments
  • Glitter
  • Beads

Another ugly sweater idea is to make a sweatshirt or hoodie that looks like a Christmas present. You can make a sweatshirt that looks like a gift box by applying ribbon, bows, and a stick-on gift tag. Christmas-decorated shirts make for an adorable idea if you and your friends want to go to an ugly Christmas sweater party dressed as a group of Christmas presents. Then one friend in your group can wear a shirt decorated like a Christmas tree.

Accessories for DIY Ugly Christmas Sweatshirts and Hoodies

The perfect ugly Christmas sweatshirt or hoodie isn't complete without some fun accessories to go with it. For example, you can add felt antlers and googly eyes to a blank baseball cap to make a cute reindeer hat. Blank tote bags can transform into Christmas keepsakes when you add iron-on designs. We also offer an incredible selection of towels, aprons, and other household items you can use to create unique holiday gifts for your friends, family, or clients.

We hope you've enjoyed this guide to DIY ugly Christmas sweatshirt inspiration and that it inspires you to create some festive sweatshirts and hoodies. For more ideas and information about any JiffyShirts products, please contact our customer service department.

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