Plus Size Christmas Sweaters: 5 Picks, Ugly and Classic
Five plus size Christmas sweaters, four ugly and one Fair Isle knit, with the bust or chest each brand charts its sizes to, and fibre and care where listed.
The invite says ugly sweaters, and the biggest one on the rack pulls tight across your chest the moment you raise your arms. Sizing up does not buy much at a store whose chart is short at the top: on UglyChristmasSweater.com’s size chart, each size from XXL to 4XL adds just 2 inches of chest, and the chart ends at a 4XL for 54–56 inches. So each of the five sweaters below, four ugly and one classic knit, comes with the bust or chest its brand charts the sizes to, the fibre and washing instructions where the listing gives them, and a price.
The short answer
| Pick | Best for | Price (reference) | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tipsy Elves Women’s Christmas Lights Plus Size | A women’s ugly sweater you can machine wash | $59.95 | XL to 4X, 100% acrylic, machine wash cold |
| Tipsy Elves Women’s Christmas Tree Tassel Plus Size | A women’s sweater with tassel trim | $59.95 | XL to 4X, Christmas tree tassels |
| Universal Standard Fair Isle Sweater | A family dinner, or a bust up to 78 in | $168 | Sizes 00 to 40, wool blend, garment chest printed |
| Tipsy Elves Men’s Gaudy Garland | Men up to a 63 in chest | $59.95 | XS to 5XL, garland and baubles |
| UglyChristmasSweater.com Filthy Animal Unisex | The largest labels, 5XL and 6XL | $49.95 | Unisex XS to 6XL; no chart past 4XL |
Find your size first
Measure around the fullest part of your bust or chest (our guides on how to measure your bust and how to measure chest size show the tape method), then find the number below. All four charts are for body measurements, and the same label is a different body at each one.
| Brand and chart | Size | Bust or chest (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Tipsy Elves, women’s sweaters | XXL | 45–48 |
| Tipsy Elves, women’s sweaters | 2X | 49–50 |
| Tipsy Elves, women’s sweaters | 3X | 51–54 |
| Tipsy Elves, women’s sweaters | 4X | 55–58 |
| Tipsy Elves, men’s sweaters | 2XL | 49–53 |
| Tipsy Elves, men’s sweaters | 3XL | 54–57 |
| Tipsy Elves, men’s sweaters | 4XL | 58–60 |
| Tipsy Elves, men’s sweaters | 5XL | 61–63 |
| UglyChristmasSweater.com | XXL | 50–52 |
| UglyChristmasSweater.com | 3XL | 52–54 |
| UglyChristmasSweater.com | 4XL | 54–56 |
| Universal Standard, body | L (22–24) | 51–55 |
| Universal Standard, body | XL (26–28) | 56–61 |
| Universal Standard, body | 2XL (30–32) | 62–69 |
| Universal Standard, body | 3XL (34–36) | 66–72 |
| Universal Standard, body | 4XL (38–40) | 72–78 |
Two gaps to know about. Tipsy Elves’ women’s plus listings sell a 1X, but its women’s chart has no 1X row; it goes from XXL straight to 2X. And UglyChristmasSweater.com sells 5XL and 6XL, but its chart has no rows for them.
The five picks
Women’s plus
Tipsy Elves Women's Christmas Lights Plus Size Ugly Christmas Sweater
If you want one you can put through the wash after the party, start here: of the five picks, it is the only one whose page lists machine washing, cold, then hang to dry. This is Tipsy Elves’ Plus Size listing of the design, sold XL to 4X, in 100% acrylic, with a “playful Christmas lights pattern”. On Tipsy Elves’ women’s sweater chart, the 3X is a 51–54 inch bust and the 4X a 55–58. The chart says to order your normal size and, between sizes, to size up.
Drawbacks: The lights are a pattern on the sweater, not lights that switch on. The 4X tops out at a 55–58 inch bust on the brand's women's chart, and that chart has no 1X row.
Tipsy Elves Women's Christmas Tree Tassel Plus Size Ugly Christmas Sweater
For something with texture rather than a flat print: the Christmas Tree Tassel has what Tipsy Elves calls “fun and festive Christmas tree tassels”. It is sold in the same XL to 4X Plus Size run and the same 100% acrylic as the Christmas Lights sweater, at the same price, and it follows the same women’s chart.
Drawbacks: Hand wash or dry clean only. Same size run as the Christmas Lights sweater, so the same 58-inch ceiling.
A classic knit
Universal Standard Fair Isle Sweater
For a family dinner or a work event where a novelty sweater is too much, or for a bust over 63 inches, where the other four picks’ charts stop. Universal Standard sells it in sizes 00 to 40, and its body chart puts the 4XL (38–40) at a 72–78 inch bust. It is the only pick here that prints the garment’s own measurements: chest circumference runs from 57 inches in an L to 62 in an XL, 67 in a 2XL, 73 in a 3XL and 79 in a 4XL, with a body length of 27.5 to 30 inches. The brand describes “a textured wool-blend yarn” and “a generous fit”, and its fit note says “We suggest you take your regular size.” Besides the Gamay colourway linked here, it is also sold as Cream Fair Isle and Oak Leaf Fair Isle.
Drawbacks: $168, against $49.95 to $59.95 for the other four picks, and hand wash only. It is a Fair Isle winter pattern, not a Christmas print. On its garment chart the chest is 1 inch over the top of the body bust range in the XL, 3XL and 4XL, and 2 inches under it in the 2XL (67 against up to 69) (our arithmetic).
Men’s and unisex
Tipsy Elves Men's Gaudy Garland Ugly Christmas Sweater
For men up to a 63-inch chest: Tipsy Elves’ men’s sweater chart puts the 4XL at 58–60 inches and the 5XL at 61–63, the biggest chest any of the four novelty sweaters here is charted to. The chart says to size up if you are between sizes. Tipsy Elves describes a gaudy garland design “punctuated with baubles that shine and catch the candlelight”; it is 100% acrylic.
Drawbacks: Hand wash or dry clean only. The men's chart lists chest only, with no body length, so it does not say how long the 5XL runs.
UglyChristmasSweater.com Filthy Animal Adult Unisex Green Ugly Christmas Sweater
For the largest label of the five, and the lowest price. The Filthy Animal sweater is sold unisex from XS to 6XL, all at one price: a green base with white and red Fair Isle patterns, reindeer and snowflake motifs, and “Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal” lettered across the chest. If you buy a 5XL or 6XL, you are going on the label alone; the chart’s 4XL row (54–56 inches) is the last number the store gives.
Drawbacks: The store's chart stops at a 4XL (54–56 inch chest), so the 5XL and 6XL have no printed measurement. Its listing gives no fibre or care line.
How to choose
- 45 to 54 inches: each of the five picks has sizes charted in this range; find your number in the table above. In Tipsy Elves’ women’s sizes it is an XXL to a 3X. UglyChristmasSweater.com’s chart has gaps here: its L ends at 44 inches and its XL starts at 46, and its XL ends at 48 and its XXL starts at 50.
- 55 to 58 inches: Tipsy Elves’ women’s picks in a 4X (55–58), the Men’s Gaudy Garland in a 3XL (54–57) or 4XL (58–60), the Filthy Animal in a 4XL (54–56, up to 56 only), or the Universal Standard in an XL (26–28, a 56–61 inch bust on its body chart).
- 58 to 63 inches: the Tipsy Elves Men’s Gaudy Garland in a 4XL (58–60) or 5XL (61–63), or the Universal Standard in an XL or 2XL.
- Over 63 inches: of the five, only Universal Standard charts this far, up to a 78-inch bust in its 4XL. At 66 to 69 inches its body chart fits both the 2XL and the 3XL; the 3XL’s garment chest is 73 inches, the 2XL’s 67 (our reading of the two charts). The Filthy Animal 5XL and 6XL are sold but not charted.
- Between two sizes, Tipsy Elves’ women’s and men’s charts both say to size up. Universal Standard’s fit note for the Fair Isle says to take your regular size.
- If it is going in the washing machine, the Christmas Lights sweater is the one whose page says so.
- Want a layer under it? For a plain knit to go with a printed one, see our plus size sweaters picks. For party dresses and other occasion wear, see events.
Before you order
- Check your size is listed as available on the product page before you plan your outfit around it.
- Use the chart for the right line. Tipsy Elves has separate women’s and men’s sweater charts; Universal Standard has a body chart and a garment chart for this sweater.
- Read the return terms on each store’s site before you order, especially for a sweater you are buying for one party.
Where these numbers come from
Sizes, fibres, care lines and prices were read on each product page on 19 October 2026, and the measurements on Tipsy Elves’ women’s and men’s sweater size guides, Universal Standard’s size guide and the Fair Isle Sweater’s garment chart, and UglyChristmasSweater.com’s sizing chart. Matching a measurement to a size across brands is our reading.
Frequently asked questions
What size Christmas sweater fits a 56 inch bust?
On the charts here: a 4X in Tipsy Elves' women's sweaters (55–58 inch bust), a 3XL in its men's sweaters (54–57 inch chest), the top of the 4XL row at UglyChristmasSweater.com (54–56 inch chest), or an XL (26–28) in Universal Standard, whose body chart puts the 26 at a 56–58 inch bust.
Where can I find an ugly Christmas sweater bigger than a 4X?
Tipsy Elves sells its Men's Gaudy Garland sweater up to a 5XL, charted to a 61–63 inch chest. UglyChristmasSweater.com sells the Filthy Animal sweater in 5XL and 6XL, but its size chart stops at a 4XL (54–56 inch chest), so those two sizes have no printed measurement. Universal Standard's Fair Isle Sweater goes to a 4XL (38–40) for a 72–78 inch bust, but it is a winter knit, not an ugly sweater.
Can a plus size ugly Christmas sweater go in the washing machine?
Of the five here, only the Tipsy Elves Women's Christmas Lights Plus Size sweater lists machine washing (cold, then hang dry). The Christmas Tree Tassel and Gaudy Garland list hand wash or dry clean, the Universal Standard Fair Isle lists hand wash cold and lay flat to dry, and the Filthy Animal listing gives no care line.
Which sweater here is charted to the biggest men's chest?
The Tipsy Elves Men's Gaudy Garland Ugly Christmas Sweater, sold from XS to 5XL. Tipsy Elves' men's sweater chart gives a 54–57 inch chest for a 3XL, 58–60 for a 4XL and 61–63 for a 5XL. The chart lists chest only, with no body length, so it does not tell you how long it runs. The Filthy Animal is sold in larger labels (5XL and 6XL), but its chart stops at a 4XL.
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