Wear Your Christmas Spirit! By Alice on Nov 09, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

I love to shop at craft shows during the holidays as so many unusual handmade items by talented artists can be found at each show. I found this really great Santa sweatshirl last year at the MSU Holiday Craft Show which is the first weekend in December.

This is a crewneck style sweatshirt by Jerzees. It's 100% cotton pigment dyed ringspun fleece in the color denim. What the artist did was to cut off the bottom banding of the sweatshirt and bring up a hem of the inside to the outside to create an interesting contrast.

The appliqued Santa cannot be missed, he is just too cute. His hat is made of 2 different Christmas materials and sewn on with a circle type embroidery stitch with a sewing machine. The band of his hat is surrounded with fuzzy white yarn. The facial expression is appliqued along with the mustache and beard.

Across the top of Santa's hat are the words "I believe" embroidered in a white decorative stitch along with several stars. On the back of the sweatshirt are several more embroidered stars over the right shoulder.

I normally wear a red or white mock turtleneck underneath but that is a personal preferrence. I chose the denim color to wear with jeans to feel casual yet ready to have some fun when I go out. I have washed this several times in cold water, inside out, and then laid this to dry on one of those large netted devices for drying sweaters. I press with a warm iron while it is still inside out and have not had a problem with the applique.

Support you local crafters and pick up some very beautiful craft items and clothing. You will not find these in the stores or mass produced!!