Ugly Sweater with Lights SVG

About this design

Somebody wrapped the tree lights around the sweater instead of the tree. Two strands of Christmas lights droop across a green crew-neck, one high on the chest and one lower down, each wire dipping slightly in the middle. The bulbs are gold, set in dark sockets, spaced along the wire so they hang at an even rhythm. A single cream zigzag sits just above the hem, and the cuffs, hem and collar are red.

The dark wire and sockets are not a separate color: they are the base layer showing through, so the lights look plugged in without adding another sheet of vinyl.

Pieces and weeding

The solid file has 22 pieces and 20 cut-outs. Body, sleeves, cuffs, hem and collar are separate pieces, divided by thin cut lines, and the bulbs and zigzag row add the rest. Most of the cut-outs are the rib slots across the cuffs and hem; the neck opening is one more. Weed the slots first, then watch the bulbs as you lift the waste, because the small gold pieces sit close together along the wire. It passes our cut checks from about 4.5 inches wide.

Color layers

• Base and lines in a green-black: the whole design, cut as the base layer; it shows as the fine lines between the parts, and as the wire and sockets
• Sweater in a rich green: the body and sleeves
• Ribbing and trim in red: cuffs, hem and collar
• Knit pattern in cream: the zigzag near the hem
• Accents in warm gold: the bulbs

Make the bulbs glow

• Cut the bulbs from gold glitter or holographic iron-on so they catch the light.
• On a black shirt, try multicolor bulbs: cut the Accents layer four times in red, blue, green and gold, and swap colors bulb by bulb.
• Glow-in-the-dark vinyl on the bulbs makes a fun shirt for an evening light walk.
• Our color guide shows how to split one layer into several colors.

Party game: the light check

At the party, hand out a card listing things to spot on other people’s sweaters: lights, a bow, a pom-pom, a reindeer, a snowflake. The first guest to find a sweater for every line wins. A shirt with lights on it ticks one box straight away, which makes this design a popular pick for the host.

Size guide

Pairs well with

The Christmas Tree Ugly Sweater has the tree these lights were meant for, and the Ugly Sweater Squad lettering suits a group that all shows up lit.