Hey guys, happy National Christmas Jumper Day! Are you wearing a suitably garish knit to honour the occasion? I am! I was supposed to be wearing mine into the office but have ended up working from home today. Boy oh boy are the Amazon Prime delivery men in for a sight when I open the door in my very own, handcrafted Christmas puntastic monstrosity masterpiece.
If you’re currently looking rather sensible in your smart suit or uniform, there’s no need to get FOMO because there are still plenty of opportunities to break out one of these bad boys. And that brings me to a really fun idea for something to do with your family and/or friends over the festive period. A ‘Make Your Own Christmas Jumper Craft Party’!
I got inspired to suggest this to you all after having a blast at the annual John Lewis Christmas bash. It’s become their tradition to invite a bunch of bloggers down to London and issue them with a fun crafting challenge. An evening of eating, drinking and being generally Christmassy and merry ensued this year as we attempted to turn one of John Lewis’s gorgeous knitwear items into a festive wonder.
Now some people are wonderfully creative with a flair for arts and crafts. Then there are people like me. Give me a pencil and tell me to draw a circle and I’ll end up presenting you with something that looks like a squashed peach. Luckily, a Make Your Own Christmas Jumper Party isn’t about creating something that John Lewis would actually stock for people to buy, it’s all about having a giggle with your friends and family and making something unique that Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy would wear!
All you really need are some good fabric scissors, craft glue and some things to cut out and/or stick on your jumper! Think ribbon, felt, buttons, glitter, fabric swatches… anything goes!
I watched in admiration as the girls around me expertly made elbow patches and shoulder trims, added sequinned felt antlers to Buster the boxer…
…and transformed a simple red stocking into The Grinch!
My effort? I kept it simple by cutting out some felt letters to spell out, ahem… ‘MEOWY Christmas‘ (sorry I know that’s so bad) and then glued these and some pretty buttons onto my jumper.
Despite my lack of skill and completely basic design, it turned out better than I’d hoped and I still smile now thinking back to what a fun evening it was.
On a side note did I mention that I’m wearing mine now? I used this jumper from the John Lewis Weekend Range* which was really quite gorgeous before I got my hands on it and snuggly soft! There are loads more to choose from here too.
A big thanks go to John Lewis for supplying me with the gorgeous knit and all the crafting essentials needed and to Talented Talkers for organising such a great night.
Would you hold a Make Your Own Christmas Jumper Party? How would you decorate a jumper to make it truly festive?
