Ugly Christmas Sweater Shirt

Ugly Christmas Sweater Shirt. Create a long-sleeve ugly Christmas sweater shirt with a Cricut machine and iron-on.

Cricut invited me to participate in their Pretty/Ugly Sweater Showcase. Bloggers were challenged to create the prettiest or ugliest holiday sweater.

I love using my Cricut Explore to create shirts. The iron-on is so easy to use and the glitter iron-on is amazing! It is so sparkly and fun. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Please read my full disclosure policy here. Thank you to Cricut for providing me with some of the products in this post.

How to Make an Ugly Christmas Sweater Shirt

Supplies:

• Cricut Machine
• Green Glitter Iron-on
• Red Glitter Iron-on
• White Glitter Iron-on
• Black Iron-on
• Long Sleeve T-shirt
• Iron and ironing board

Create Ugly Sweater Design in Cricut Design Space

I love cats, so I knew I wanted to incorporate a kitty on my sweater. And since I don’t really like sweaters (I am allergic to wool and even the cotton ones tend to make me itchy), I thought it would be fun to create an ugly sweater pattern on a long sleeve t-shirt. I picked up an inexpensive gray t-shirt at Walmart. 

RELATED: How to Use Images in Cricut Design Space

I got to work in Cricut Design Space. I created rows of trees and snowflakes. I added a fluffy kitty with a Santa hat and the words, “Merry Christmas”. I then added some paw prints and a heart. I was trying to make my sweater ugly, but I actually think it turned out pretty cute!

Design Space file: Ugly Christmas Sweater Shirt

Cut Out Iron-On Design with Cricut

Select mirror image on the mat preview page. This will flip your image so that when you iron it onto your shirt it will not be backwards. This is especially important when working with fonts and words.

Place the iron-on onto the mat, shiny side down.

I chose to cut everything out in glitter iron-on except for the cat’s black tail, nose, and paw prints. The glitter makes the shirt a lot more festive for the holidays!

Once you have everything cut out, weed the iron-on material that is not part of your design off the liner.

Since all the patterns are cut out on one sheet (unless you click Attach before cutting), I separate the different parts of the design by cutting the vinyl apart.

RELATED: How to Group and Attach in Cricut Design Space

So for example, with the black iron-on, I had two sets of paw prints, a nose, and a tail. This makes it easier when it comes time to iron the design on.

Iron-on Ugly Sweater Designs

I laid out the design on my shirt before I started ironing to be sure everything was going to fit as I wanted it.

Follow the instructions for ironing or using an EasyPress. For glitter iron-on, use medium pressure on the hottest setting (cotton/linen) for 25 – 30 seconds. Then, you flip the shirt over and iron for the same amount of time from the back.

Cricut Heat Guide: https://cricut.com/en_us/heatguide

When you are layering iron-on you only need to iron the first layer for 15 to 20 seconds.

I used the liner piece that I peeled off the cat to iron on all the pieces of the Santa hat. You can also use a protective sheet. It says on the package not to layer glitter iron-on but so far I haven’t had any problems with it sticking. 

If you don’t want to layer the glitter iron-on, you can use the slice tool in Design Space.

RELATED: How to Slice in Cricut Design Space

Ready to make your own pretty or ugly sweater? Cricut is having a contest from now until December 14th, 2015. Submit your photo and tell Cricut a little about your sweater. The winners will be chosen by the most honest of judges – elementary-aged school children. The prizes will vary, including a Cricut of your own! 

** CONTEST HAS ENDED **

Ready to purchase a Cricut of your own? Click the image below to start shopping! 

So do you think my shirt turned out Pretty or Ugly? Tell me in the comments.

You may also like:

• Joy to the World Pillow
• Personalized Snowflake Ornament
• Vinyl Christmas Frame