Show off your holiday cheer with custom Christmas sweaters. Whether you want to show off at an office Christmas party, match for family Christmas photos, or dress on-theme for a holiday event, you don’t want to wear the same outfit as everyone else. The best custom Christmas sweaters can’t be found at a store. They are a great way to show off your sense of humor or personal style. Your custom apparel can range from minimalist and chic to over-the-top and gaudy. When you follow our guide to designing Christmas sweaters, you’ll be decked out in custom apparel every holiday season.
Choose a Sweater Style
Most personalized Christmas sweaters are crewnecks, which are easy to dress up for an office event or down for a casual get-together. The comfortable round neckline offers a timeless look that remains popular. Otherwise, you can design custom hoodies for ultra-cozy festive outerwear. The large hood and pocket provide extra warmth. For a more laid-back style, you should customize a full-zip hoodie. This is an excellent layering piece that lets you add a printed design on the back or an embroidered design on the chest. GotPrint’s personalized sweatshirts are made from super-soft cotton/poly fleece. This breathable material will still keep you warm in the cold winter months. Plus, the finely crafted threads are durable, so you’ll be able to wear your merry Christmas sweatshirt for years to come.
Decide Between Printing and Embroidery
Your custom Christmas sweater design will depend on what print type you select. There are two options: printed and embroidered. Direct-to-garment printing transfers the ink directly onto the fabric. This results in a highly detailed, vibrant image that lasts a long time. This is best for photo Christmas sweaters or any other intricate design, as the color variety and printing methods can accurately reproduce your design. DTG printing allows you to print on the front or back of a crewneck or hoodie—or both, if you want more space to design.
An embroidered Christmas sweater, on the other hand, will have a much more limited design area. You can add your design to the left or right side of the chest on crewnecks, hoodies, and zip-ups. Custom embroidery works best with simple designs, like text and plain artwork. Complex details and photos will not work in this style. There are twelve different thread color options, and you can select up to four at no additional charge. Elegant and fashionable, a custom embroidered sweater is ideal for trendy and cute Christmas sweaters.
Find Your Festive Design Style
There are typically two design approaches for Christmas sweaters: tacky and cute. Custom ugly Christmas sweaters often replicate the old-school 80s designs, which had elaborate patterns and vibrant colors. An ugly xmas sweater in this style can include a winter landscape with falling snow and woodland creatures, or it can have a repeating snowflake pattern. If you need ugly sweater ideas, you can browse vintage magazines and old catalogs to find an audaciously tacky style. Lean into the traditional look of a vintage holiday sweater with words in the design that mimic the appearance of knit text. Alternatively, you can create funny Christmas sweaters. These can feature artwork, like an ugly Santa, tipsy elves, or goofy reindeer. Another funny design puts animals, like geese, dogs, cats, and dinosaurs, in a Santa hat and beard. Funny Christmas sweatshirts can also be text-based. Pair a design of a broken candy cane with the phrase “Oh Snap.” You can also keep it laid back by simply printing the phrase “This is my ugly Christmas sweater” on your custom crewneck.
For a cute Christmas sweater, you can pull from all the classic holiday imagery. The traditional Christmas trees and Christmas lights can be drawn to look delicate and dainty. Thin bows, elegant cursive text, festive postage stamps, and vintage teddy bears are all fashionable ideas for trendy Christmas sweaters. Illustrated cartoon reindeer, polar bears, penguins, and other winter creatures make adorable designs. Create a winter wonderland with snowflakes, stars, and trees. Or highlight holiday food with candy canes and gingerbread cookies. Many of these designs, like snowmen and ornaments, are simple enough to embroider. You can also make matching custom family Christmas sweaters that are embroidered with your name alongside a cute festive design. Couples can also make a men’s Christmas sweater that says Mr. Claus and a women’s Christmas sweater that says Mrs. Claus.
If you’re still stuck on design inspo, don’t worry. GotPrint has a variety of Christmas t-shirts that range from funny to cute. Whether you want a cute shirt with a simple Christmas tree design or a funny Christmas shirt that says “Dear Santa, Just Bring Wine,” you’re sure to find a shirt that fits your style. Though not quite a sweater, you can layer Christmas shirts with warmer items.
Decorate Your Sweater
Sometimes, the sweater on its own isn’t enough. If you really want to win an ugly sweater contest, then you need to pull out all the stops. Adding decorations to your Christmas crewneck sweater can help you win an ugly Christmas sweater party. Festive embellishments add a dramatic 3D element that people will remember. If your sweater has a Santa Claus design, you can glue white pompoms to his beard. Announce all your movements by attaching jingle bells to the fabric. You can match the bells to different design elements, or you can make them look like a necklace by adding them around the collar. There are other, less permanent accessories you use. Pin small ornaments or garlands to the sleeves; if you have battery-powered Christmas lights, you can wrap them around yourself for a flashy, eye-catching holiday display.
Christmas Party Essentials
Make sure all your friends and family members are ready for your Christmas sweater party. Design custom holiday party invitations that tell everyone what sweater style to wear, what desserts to bring, and all your other important event details. If you’re planning a hot chocolate party, you can order custom mugs with holiday designs or keep it simple with personalized drink tags. Check out GotPrint’s Christmas Shop for all your custom holiday prints.