DIY "Ugly" Hanukkah Sweater

Say hello to Vanessa!

Everyone is all in a rage over Ugly Christmas Sweaters. They're funny, corny, and heck, who doesn't like a pom pom or two? Went I went on a search for Ugly Hanukkah Sweaters, however, I came up with very few results. The only once that came up in a search were $60+ — and they weren't even that great. I opted to make my own. Check out the full how-to after the jump.

• A sweater. I picked up a blue kid's sweatshirt.
• Glitter puffy paint or glitter glue. I was able to buy these huge glitter glues for around $2 at the craft store. They're really saturated with glitter and that's exactly what I was looking for.
• Silver ribbon. I didn't end up using it but had originally intended to make a few ribbons. 
• Iron-on white letters. I got 'em in varsity style block letters, but there are many variations of these. Pick your poison.

Cut your letters out and carefully lay them out to spell your saying. I went with Oy Vey! Hanukkah!, but feel free to keep it as traditional as you please.


Iron those babies on. I recommend following the instructions on the package. Most of them are the same — Use a thin piece of cotton between the iron and the letters, turn inside out to iron again, and allow to cool before removing the backing. Sure, the sweater looks great already, but it's not quite corny enough...

That's where the glitter glue comes into play.


Make sure you put something between the layers of sweatshirt (I used some old J. Crew catalogs). Use your best line drawing skills to make stars, menorahs, dreidels or even challah if you're feeling ultra-artsy. I let my shirt lay out in a safe place for a full day just to make sure it was totally dry.


And there you have it. A very festive and frugal holiday sweater. How frugal? In total, it cost me around twenty bucks. I look forward to see everyone's Ugly Sweaters for all winter holidays this year!