December is the perfect month for parties and dressing up, and one event we will never miss out on is a good old Ugly Sweater Party – we just prefer to call it a Pretty Ugly Sweater Party instead! We kicked off this annual tradition by taking a trip to our favourite thrifting destination to pick out the perfect pretty sweaters, then gave them a personal twist.
There’s something so fun about browsing the many colourful racks at Value Village to find the ideal piece that you know nobody at the party will have. This year, we decided to make our knit picks even more unique by hand-stitching some holiday love. You can even find unexpected props and decor items (like pom poms and tinsel) at your local Value Village too if you’re going for a simpler “tacky” DIY, but we wanted the challenge of hand stitching this time around!
See the steps below to find out how we turned our Ugly Sweater Party pretty with the help of Value Village!
What you’ll need //
Yarn
A darning needle big enough to fit your yarn
Vintage sweaters from Value Village
Scissors
A chalk pencil (optional)
Think of the knit pattern as a grid and you can use simple needlepoint techniques to embroider simple phrases and images. If you don’t feel comfortable free-handing your design, you can plan it out first using a chalk pencil.
Tie a knot at one end of your yarn. Use a darning needle to come up from the back of the sweater and all the way through. Now go back in and out following along the grid of the sweater knit, you can even count the stitches to make sure you evenly space out your lines.
Make sure you don’t pull too tight after each stitch or you’re sweater will buckle. Finish your design on the backside of the sweater and tie off your yarn.
This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com