Knitwear & Sweeney Todd
Clearly my profession-obsession holds its firm place at the forefront of my brain as I seem to be completely incapable of just watching a movie when knitwear makes an appearance in it. This weekend we saw Sweeney Todd and along with Burton/Depp/Bonham Carter brilliance, I found myself focused on accessories: garter stitch wrist warmers, seed stitch scarf, cabled fingerless gloves… It’s an illness really, but one that I feel the need to share with you. Now see here!
Garter Stitch Wrist Warmers
(Worn by Johnny Depp as the title character.
Make a similar pair, using my free Hand Like a Hole pattern)
Seed Stitch Scarf & Cabled Fingerless Gloves
(Worn by Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony)
Thank you for listening.
xo,
Vickie
P.S. If you’d like to spend your Sunday indulging in Tim Burton-movie-knitwear-goodness after ST, don’t forget Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (new version). 🙂
P.P.S. I’d love to give the designer credit here, but don’t know who it is (for either movies). Anyone know?
It’s really very comforting to know I wasn’t the only one noticing the gloves in that movie. I turned to my husband at one point in the movie and suggested that I’d love to make him a pair.
The Golden Compass also has some stunning knitwear in it. The general fasions are drop dead fantastic!
Vickie – Search at the imdb.com website for Colleen Atwood, the costume designer for Sweeney Todd.
If you’re not familiar with the imdb.com site I promise you it will become a favorite. You can find a synopsis of a Tv episode made 30 years ago, for example.
If you search ‘Sweeney Todd’ @imdb details of the movie are displayed, click on ‘more’ and the entire list of credits is displayed including twenty-one people n the costume dept.
I also fixate on costume and decor and architectural elements, too, when watching movies.
Jamie/Moira– I literally *just* finished a GC inspired baby bonnet inspired by the hat Lyra wore in the North. I’m either going to submit it to a new One Skein book looking for stuff or else I’ll kit it out. Not sure yet. Anyway, I’ll post a pic when I have it. 🙂
Liz-Yup, I’m familiar w/ imdb. I actually pay to have a fancy schmancy account that allows me access to actors’ agent contact info and such for the Knit.1 column. 🙂 Anyway, usually the costume department commissions out for knitwear. For instance, Rita Ryack is listed as the costume designer on The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, but my friend Suss Cousins actually did all of the knitwear in that movie. She’s worked on a ton of major movies, but I’ve yet to see her credited. My guess is that she gets a sketch of the general look they’re going after and the actor’s measurements (for example, she just did a sweater for Brad Pitt for an upcoming movie and had to wait to get his exact measurements before she could have her team produce several of them for shooting), and then creates them from there. But I digress. 🙂
SCK–You’re not alone my friend, you’re not alone.
Ah…to be the professional knit ware designer for movies!!! Now that would be fun
Ah yes, ever since I picked my yarn back up (took a year off to scrapbook my wedding and my little heart out) I have been noticing knitwear all around me. It started with movies, but now when someone walks by me with a lovely piece on I have to stop myself from stopping them to try and figure out the pattern. At least I know I’m not alone on the movie front.
i love noticing people knitting on tv or in movies. i just saw an old episode of roseanne where her mother was knitting something on ***DPNs***.
i reread my judy blume books over the summer and discovered that in the majority of her books, a character (usually a grandmother) knits. i posted a question on her website and asked if she herself knitted. she answered back (a thrill for me becos she was one of my favorite authors as a kid) that no, she didn’t knit herself, and thought it would be neat to knit but just didn’t have the time to learn.
Oh my dear you are soooo not alone. I have been doing such obsessive viewing for years. When my son and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix las summer I fell in love with Luna Lovegoods purple capelet and have been planning on making something like it. I do think however that it may actually crocheted.
I also watch tv shows and movies to see how the set designers decorate so that I may “borrow” ideas. Other favorite is to keep close eye on jewelry that I can adapt to my beadwork projects. All of this close attention to detail both amuses and drives my husband crazy. He just can’t figure out how I notice these things. I could go on but that would be obsessive…:)
Same here…thought I was the only nut whose attention wandered to checking out accessories, how they were made, what they were made with… during movies, at the grocery store, during meetings at work…. Nice to know I’m not nuts after all!!
LOL…yeah! I’m glad it wasn’t just me. I couldn’t focus on the movie…just kept waiting for the next peek at the fingerless gloves and his amazing scarf so I could replicate it for my own! 🙂
Thanks for sharing!!!
anne sheridan
I went to see the movie yesterday (Jan.1) and found myself doing the same thing! I was concentrating on the fingerless gloves that Johnny Depp was wearing. To me they looked like a digaonal garter stitch. I did the same thing when I was watching The Golden Compass.
Yupper! Went yesterday and was surprised there weren’t more hand knits. Helena Bonham Carter was all about tattered lace though – a good choice.
I was actually thinking Depp’s gloves were crocheted.
Haven’t seen ST yet, but I do the exact same thing – check out all the knitted goodies. My non-knitter friends (whose numbers are dwindling as more of them pick up sticks) think it’s a little strange.
“The Holiday” is a great movie for knitted items – Cameron Diaz’s character wears a ton of stuff when she moves to frosty Surrey.
Spent at least the first 20 minutes of the movie trying to decifer the knitwear. I think Anthony’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) scarf is actually diagonal garter stitch though, not seed stitch.
Speaking of Sweeney Todd, I thought I would share with you Vickie an fun hip most awesome youtuber I have ever seen. They are the http://youtube.com/user/ThreadBanger
I thouhgt you might find their stuff interesting. They did an interview with Colleen Atwood, the costume deginer for above said movie.
Enjoy
I was just looking at the movie Holiday for the tenth time or so.I am sick, in bed and knitting, I needed something that is entertaining, but doesn’t need my full attention, but it caught it anyway. I realized how many gorgeus knits Cameron Diaz is wearing in it, starting with that ohh-ahh, white cables… I just deceided that I am going to try to replicate that…
Cool variety of knitwear I found at Boden at reasonable price…
I rented it this weekend. What can I say, my friend. You are so right.
Just watched this again and I wish I knew how to knit or crochet.
Well you know, you have come to the right place. 😉
It’s great to know that I’m not the only one who loves them gloves !
Everytime I watch the film I just want them !
=D
Now I can have them =D
xx
I did the EXACT thing with sweeny todd on new years; my friends thought i was so weird for wanting to pause the movie to determine the stitch in Anthony’s scarf (though i came up with garter sttich?)
A bit late adding my thoughts here, just want to say I agree completely, luuuvvely knitwear in Sweeney Tood! My favorite film for spectacular knitwear has to be The Edge of Love with Sienna Miller, Kiera Knightley etc – set during WW2, it features some stunning pieces, including a fantastic mustard-coloured cardigan.
Ooh, I haven’t seen that one. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up!