Create an Ugly Christmas Sweater for Pentatonix

Ever since the Stevie Nicks shawl callout (did you see the winning design, by the way? Amazing.) I’ve been getting e-mails from TalentHouse, and I saw another fun one that I thought knitters might be interested in.

This one is to design an ” Ugly Christmas Sweaters” for a member of the acclaimed acappella group Pentatonix. (The only problem with knitting a sweater is that the guidelines don’t indicate sizes, but it looks like the group covers a range of sizes.)

They’re releasing a Christmas album and the winning sweater will be worn by a member of the group in a music video that will be shared right before Christmas with their e-mail subscribers and on YouTube. The winning designer will also get a $1,500 prize and a shoutout on the video and in social media.

Entries must be in by December 1, and the person who gets the most votes during the selection period (the first week of December) will also receive $250 an a mention in the e-mail from Pentatonix.

This sounds like such great fun! If any of you go for it, I’d love to know about it!

[Photo via TalentHouse.]

Looking for more Christmas themed Knitting patterns? Check out some of our favorite Knitting patterns on Etsy and

These Christmas Knitting Pattern Books on Amazon

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If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.

The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can practice them plenty with this eyelet covered sweater from Knitcro Addict. It uses light/DK weight yarn and is worked in four pieces knit flat. It’s intended to be a little cropped and a little oversized, and includes sizes XS to XXL in the pattern.

If you’re in parts of the world where it’s getting colder as you read this, the Nora sweater from Bummbul might be a good choice. This is actually a great one for learning lace because it’s worked in super bulky yarn, which makes it easier to see what you’re doing and makes the lace super graphic. This one just comes in one size, with a 42 inch (106) cm bust, but that could fit a variety of people depending on how much ease you like.

Minimi Knit Design has a cute allover lace cardigan worked in one piece from the bottom up. It’s worked in lace weight mohair held double, which maybe isn’t the best for those new to lace (because it can be hard to rip out) but it sure is pretty. Sizes range to fit from 30 to 66 inches/76 to 168 cm bust measurements.

If you’d rather not have lace all over your sweater, you can knit the Lumi sweater from Originally Lovely, which has a chevron lace pattern on the yoke and is otherwise worked in reverse stockinette stitch. (It’s worked inside out so you don’t have to purl every stitch.) The pattern has 9 sizes from XS to 5XL and uses worsted weight yarn.

Or try the super romantic sookie blouse from Trust the mojo (available on Ravelry). This sweet top is started working flat from the bottom up and has a V-neck and I-cord edgings. The sleeves are worked separately in the round, and the pieces are all joined together to work in one piece to finish off the top. It comes in eight sizes and is available in English and French.

You can also pair lacy sleeves with an otherwise plain top, like on the Starflower Wrap from Annelise Driscoll Gingrow. This intermediate pattern makes a wrap sweater with generous lacy sleeves and a double wrap belt. The pattern has nine sizes, from XS to 5XL, and is available for free from Hobbi.

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