Ugly Sweater Template
Design an ugly Christmas sweater, put a name on it, and print it in color, as a coloring page or as a blank template.
Your sweater
Bands and paper
Each motif repeats to fill its band and stays inside the sweater. Pick “None” for plain knit. Picking a ready design resets the bands to its own.
Every page keeps a 10 mm margin, so a home printer does not clip the edges.
Class set: one sweater per name
Paste the names, one per line (or separated by commas). You get one page per name, each sweater with that child's name knitted on the chest and on the name line, in the print style chosen above (the coloring page works best for a class).
Contest: ballots and awards
Name the categories, print ballots for the guests, then type each winner to print their certificate. Only categories with a winner get a certificate.
Nothing you type leaves your device. The sweater, the class set and the certificates are drawn in this page and the PDF is built in your browser. The page counts one anonymous event when a file is downloaded (which kind of file, never a name), and keeps no draft.
How to make your ugly sweater printable
- Pick a ready design under the picture: seven color schemes, each with its own bands of motifs. Classic red has reindeer, snowflakes and trees; Candy shop has candy canes, pom-poms and gingerbread people.
- Change the bands if you like. The chest, belly and hem bands run across the body and the sleeve band crosses both sleeves. There are nine motifs to choose from: reindeer, Christmas tree, snowflake, gingerbread person, pom-poms, a string of lights, candy cane, star and present.
- Type a name (up to 12 letters). It is knitted across the chest in blocky stitch letters, the way a real jumper's lettering looks.
- Choose how to print it: in color for a picture to hang or give, as a coloring page with clean black outlines, or as a blank outline for your own drawing. Then press Download PDF, or PNG if your phone prints pictures more easily.
Questions
Is this ugly sweater template a free printable PDF?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no paid version. The PDF is drawn in vector lines, so the outline stays sharp at any size, and the 300 dpi PNG prints crisply on A4 or Letter. Letter is chosen for you if your browser is set to US or Canadian English; everyone else starts on A4, and you can switch.
Can I print it as an ugly sweater coloring page for kids?
Choose “Coloring page”. Every motif then becomes a closed black outline with a white inside, so a child can color each reindeer, bauble and button as its own shape, and the knit letters of their name are outlined to fill in. Five- to eight-year-olds manage the default design well; for preschoolers, set two of the bands to “None” so there are fewer, bigger spaces. “Blank template” prints just the sweater's outline, cuffs, hem and collar, which is the version to use when children should invent their own pattern, or for cutting out as a card or a garland.
How do I make a set for a whole class?
Paste the class list into the class set box and press its button. Thirty names give a thirty-page PDF, one sweater per page with that child's name on the chest and on the name line, so you can hand them out without writing a single name. If the box is left empty, the six example names you see in it are printed instead, so you can check the look first; typed names always replace them completely.
How do you run an ugly sweater contest?
Decide the categories before the party and print one ballot per guest; the ballots print two to eight to a page, depending on how many categories they list, with cut lines and crop marks. Vote once everyone has arrived, and ask guests not to vote for themselves. Count each category separately, and for a tie, let the two finalists stand side by side for a show of hands. Then type each winner's name next to their category and print the certificates: one landscape page each, with the category, the name and a small sweater in your chosen colors. National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day in the US falls on the third Friday of December, which in 2026 is 18 December.
What are good ugly sweater contest categories?
The five ready categories are Most festive, Best lights, Ugliest overall, Most creative and Best homemade. Others that work well: Best duo or matching pair, Most 3D (bells, tinsel and pom-poms stuck on), Best pet sweater, Best team or office department, and Most likely to be worn again next year. Add as many as you like; a category prints on the ballots as soon as it has a name and on a certificate as soon as it has a winner.
Which paper should I use?
Plain 80 g/m² (20 lb) copy paper is fine for coloring pages with crayons or colored pencils. Felt-tip markers bleed through thin paper, so use 100 to 120 g/m² (28 to 32 lb) for them. Print certificates on cardstock of 160 to 250 g/m² (60 to 90 lb cover), which most home inkjets feed from the rear tray. Print at “Actual size” or 100 %: every page keeps a 10 mm margin, which home printers reach without clipping, so there is nothing to gain from “Fit to page”. A full-color sweater page uses a lot of red or green ink, so for a class, the coloring page is kinder to the printer.
Is this a knitting pattern?
No. It is a picture of a sweater for coloring, decorating or a contest, not a stitch chart to knit from. If you want to plan a real one, design the look here first.
Want more for the party?
The invitation maker has a knitted ugly sweater party invitation with ready wording, and the Christmas party games page prints games for the rest of the evening.