Many years ago I owned a holiday sweater; a
beautiful, black sweater edged in metallic red and gold trim and covered with
beaded poinsettias. As often happens with such things, it became unfashionable,
so I wouldn’t be caught dead in it. It was donated to a thrift store.
Then I wished I still owned it. Two years ago, the
middle school where I worked had a holiday contest for the faculty, sponsored
by the Student Council; an ugly Christmas Sweater contest. I wasn’t going to
let my lack of said sweater keep me from participating. Besides the opportunity
to wear jeans to work, I didn’t want to miss the chance to win a prize. Though
many people think I’m shy and quiet, I have a competitive streak. And a warped
sense of humor.
At first, I was just going to try my luck at the
thrift stores. Surely, an ugly holiday sweater wouldn’t be hard to find. But
just in case, I had a back-up theme in mind, a nebulous plan based on my
favorite holiday movie. Well, it turns out ugly sweaters are highly prized and
difficult to find. Plan B it was. The trip to the thrift store wasn’t a waste.
I found a solid red sweater for $5 that suited my purposes perfectly.
That particular store was also in the same shopping center as a craft store. It
was almost one-stop shopping.
So, how do you decide what elements should be on
your ugly sweater when it’s based on a movie? Unless you have lots of time for
construction, keep it simple. Pick the most iconic images and go from there. I
chose to feature the movie’s biggest stars. And a few quotes that seemed
appropriate.
Turns out Plan B was the best option. I won first place, but I was the only one with working lights.
My hubby took this a few days ago when we were picking out
the GrisDeJong Christmas Tree.
The decorations are out, and we're almost ready for a
fun, old fashioned family Christmas!
A close-up of the movie's biggest stars.
The squirrel is felt with a faux fur tail. His features are drawn with a black sharpie.
He's angled not only to make it look like he's jumping from the tree,
but to make sure his googly eyes are looking at Snots.
Snots was a photo printed out on a t-shirt iron-on from my stash.
He was ironed onto a piece of the brown felt and cut out.
Tacky Glue was used to secure all the felt pieces to the sweater.
This is the back of the sweater.
The bubble quotes were created on the computer, printed on t-shirt iron-ons
and applied to white felt.
I probably should have re-thought the positioning of that last one.
Exterior sweater illumination doesn't need to be complicated.
My battery-operated strand of LED lights has 15 bulbs.
I marked their placement on the tree with the sharpie, cut a small hole at each mark,
and starting at the top of the tree with the bulb at the end of the strand,
poked them through to the front.
To secure the wires and make them lie flat, I used scrap yarn and a large tapestry needle.
After all the bulbs were inserted, there was still enough wire on the strand that
I can put the battery pack in my front jeans pocket.
The sweater is long enough to conceal it.
By the way, if you own a black turtleneck dicky, feel free to wear it with your sweater.
I prefer a real turtleneck or long sleeved t-shirt since I don't want the wires next
to my skin.
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Kiss his a**, Kiss his a**, Happy Chanukah!
The
Project Queen
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