The SPOKE

The Student News Site of Conestoga High School

The SPOKE

The SPOKE

Four easy steps to an ugly sweater

    Four+easy+steps+to+an+ugly+sweater

    By Olivia Thompson, Staff Reporter

    You are invited to an ugly sweater party! At first you’re thinking “Yay! I’m excited, another holiday party that I have to go to!” But then, a subtle realization sets in. You don’t have an ugly sweater. The day rolls around and you still have no sweater. You definitely should have gone to Target. If you don’t have time to go to Target, or perhaps are on a budget, or even just want something fun to do, I have the answer. You might have some felt from your mom’s (or dad’s) sewing closet. Maybe a hot glue gun, a green shirt. You have some tinsel and some ribbon. But most importantly, you have an hour and some hope.

    If you are like me, a shameless crafter, you already have an ugly sweater. You made it yourself last year last minute and it did NOT live up to expectations. Rip it to shreds, it isn’t ugly enough. If you aren’t like me, grab an old green shirt and await further instruction.

    Perfect! This year, we are making a wreath ugly sweater. The arms are going to be part of the wreath and the bottom and top of the shirt are going to be more of the wreath. First, plan out how much of everything you need. This is a last-minute type DIY project and it took me around an hour, so if you are in a rush you can finish it in 30 minutes. And there aren’t any specific measurements so you won’t need a ruler.

    Next, cut out the basic shapes of a wreath according to your shape of shirt or sweater. To make the felt look more like a wreath, cut out sharp shapes. This will give a leafy-look and give some texture to the wreath. To further this texture, I later glued scraps of felt onto the wreath.

    Now we are going to put a twist on this classic ugly sweater. We aren’t just making any old ugly sweater. We are making a NONDENOMINATIONAL ugly sweater! In order to make this nondenominational, we need to incorporate Hanukkah and Kwanzaa; we need to include a candelabra. Candelabras are the basic word to describe branched candlestick holders. Hanukkah uses a menorah and Kwanzaa uses a kinara. Both of these holders have seven candles each, so that is what will be in the center of our wreath.

    To do so, I used a classic blue to represent Hanukkah and later included red bows to incorporate Kwanzaa, as well as Christmas. I cut out a candelabra from blue felt and glued it on with hot glue. To make the process easier, fold the felt in half, outline, and cut it on the fold to double the image.

    Next, grab all of your ribbon, tinsel, decorations, and just go crazy with it. I wanted mine to look ugly but ugly with a purpose. If you don’t want to do that, go for it.

    And there you have it, an easy DIY last minute nondenominational ugly sweater. Now you can go to your party and impress everyone in the room!

    My sister approves of it, too. It may be a little itchy but it’s definitely worth it.

    Olivia Thompson can be reached at [email protected].

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