5 Removable Christmas Sweater Designs

Get festive without ruining your favorite sweater.

Woman Wearing Sweater That Says "Ho Ho Ho"

DIY Ho Ho Ho Sweater

Embellish a plain white sweater with a couple pieces of felt to make a cute Santa-inspired sweater for the holidays.

Photo by: Karen Kavett

Karen Kavett

Sweater parties have become a staple of the holiday season, but you don’t have to buy an expensive new one or scour thrift stores. Just head to your closet! Turn a plain sweater festive in a flash with these quick and easy hacks from HGTV Handmade host Karen Kavett. By tacking or baste stitching materials on a sweater, you can add fun Christmas designs that are completely removable. Watch the video (Karen’s five creations are at the end) and read on for the how-tos.

10 DIY Ugly Christmas Sweaters
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Christmas Tassel Sweater

Woman Wearing Sweater With Tassels Around Collar

DIY Tassel Christmas Sweater

Embellish a plain white sweater with a red and green tassels to make a cute and festive sweater for the holidays.

Photo by: Karen Kavett

Karen Kavett

Materials Needed

  • embroidery thread (red and green)
  • embroidery needle
  • scissors

To make a tassel, wrap embroidery thread around three fingers 20 times (Image 1). Cut the thread off from the spool and remove the cut bundle from your fingers. Cut a second, small piece of thread and tie it around the top of the bundle (Image 2). Cut the bottom of the loops and trim up any uneven ends (Image 3). Repeat for as many tassels as you need. To attach the tassels to the collar of your sweater, thread a needle through the tassel (top knot) and through your sweater (Image 4). Tie thread on the inside (Image 5). Repeat for as many tassels as you want to add to your sweater.

Ho Ho Ho Sweater

Plain Sweater With Felt Letters That Spell "Ho Ho Ho"

DIY Ho Ho Ho Sweater

Embellish a plain white sweater with a couple pieces of felt to make a cute Santa-inspired sweater for the holidays.

Photo by: Karen Kavett

Karen Kavett

Materials Needed

  • felt (red and green)
  • embroidery thread (red and green)
  • embroidery needle
  • scissors

Using scissors, cut three “H” letter shapes and three “O” letter shapes out of red felt (Image 1). Tack or baste stitch each letter onto the sweater using red embroidery thread (Image 2). Sew short stitches on the front and long stitches on the back so they are easy to remove after Christmas (Image 3 + 4). For an extra embellishment, cut holly leaf and berry shapes from green and red felt. Sew onto the sweater using the same embroidery thread (Image 5).

Christmas Tree Elbow Patches

Woman Wearing Sweater With Christmas Tree-Shaped Patches on Sleeves

DIY Elbow Patch Christmas Sweater

Embellish a plain white sweater with festive Christmas tree elbow pads for the holidays.

Photo by: Karen Kavett

Karen Kavett

Materials Needed

  • felt (green, yellow and brown)
  • embroidery thread
  • embroidery needle
  • masking tape
  • scissors

Put on your sweater and mark where your elbows hit the sleeves with tape (Image 1). Using scissors, cut a triangle from green felt. Fold in half and cut the felt piece edges to resemble a Christmas tree (Image 2). Pin this tree to a second piece of felt to cut an identical Christmas tree (Image 3). Cut a small star from yellow felt and a trunk shape from brown felt for each tree. Pin all pieces into place using the tape marks as a guide to center the design (Image 4). Baste stitch on the trees using embroidery thread. Tip: You might find it helpful to place a piece of cardboard in the sleeve while you sew so you don’t sew the sleeve closed.

Snowman Sweater

Woman Wearing Sweater With Felt Snowman Face

DIY Snowman Christmas Sweater

Embellish a plain white sweater with a couple pieces of felt to make a cute snowman sweater for the holidays.

Photo by: Karen Kavett

Karen Kavett

Materials Needed

  • felt (orange and felt)
  • embroidery thread (orange and black)
  • embroidery needle
  • scissors

Using scissors, cut black felt into “coal” shapes for the snowman’s eyes and mouth; cut orange felt into a carrot nose-inspired shape (Image 2). Pin all felt pieces into place on the sweater (Image 3). Use black and orange embroidery thread to baste stitch the pieces to the sweater (Image 4).

Christmas Tinsel Sweater

Woman Wearing Sweater With Tinsel Garland Collar

DIY Tinsel Collar Sweater

Embellish a plain white sweater with metallic tinsel to make a cute and festive sweater for the holidays.

Photo by: Karen Kavett

Karen Kavett

Materials Needed

  • tinsel
  • scissors
  • embroidery
  • thread
  • embroidery needle

Cut a length of tinsel garland to fit around the neck of your sweater (Image 1). Using embroidery thread, sew the tinsel to your sweater with a simple tack or baste stitch method (Image 2). Repeat for the end of the sleeves (Image 3).

DIY Ugly Christmas Sweaters

Make an Ugly Christmas Sweater-Inspired Outfit

Go way beyond just an ugly Christmas sweater this year and craft a truly one-of-a-kind outfit that'll be the hit of the holidays.

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Your Christmas tree can also wear an ugly sweater with these adorable, tiny sweaters on dollhouse coathangers.

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Learn how to turn a plain doggie sweater into a festive holiday coat.

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