Golden Compass Knits

This weekend, my sweetheart and I went to The Golden Compass. He had just finished reading the book (I read it a few years ago), so he was very excited to see if it would match up to his imagination. The visuals certainly did - this aspect was stunning! And we both agreed that the casting was superb - even the children seemed to be really "living" the story, not visibly "acting" it out.

But of course, the thing that caught my attention the most was the brilliant work of the costumer - the hand knitted garments. These were throughout the movie, but especially prominent and creative during the time that Lyra was with the Gyptians. There's a cute little cat-ear winter hat that was perfect. But I really loved the splash of colour of her garter-stitch coat:



It doesn't seem that it would be too hard to duplicate:





Here it even shows the snuggy collar and the way it was clasped...



Someone in one of my online knitting groups identified the yarn as Noro Iro, colour #9 (which actually looks more hot-pinkish in real life). The color in the first picture is the most acurate to how it looked in the film...:


Of course, having red hair, a hot pink coat wouldn't really be my personal choice! I'd go with deep blues and sea-green running through it. But perhaps only a child would really look good in a garter-stitch coat. I'd love to make this for someone though! Wouldn't a young girl love this as a Christmas present after she'd read the book and seen the movie? I noticed that Borders has soft white stuffed bears, similar to the ice bear above, without the armor, and thought the same thing. I wish I knew someone with young chidren who were the right age to love this book and movie and then I would spoil them with movie knits!

Edited To Add: I just found out that the coat wasn't knit from yarn at all - but from shreds of cloth, to give it a rustic look. The Gyptians were to be a combination of Eskimos, Gypsies, and Pirates, and their clothing - according to the costume designer - reflected that...
Costumer Ruth Myers, who also worked on one of my favorite films, Emma, said...
"I wanted to look at things differently. We painted, burnt and dyed everything. I wasn’t looking for the perfect piece of fabric. I wanted to make the perfect piece of fabric. (For example) Lyra's red coat, its knitted from twine, cut fabric."

She says lots of other cool things about the costume design, with photos, so read her interview HERE.

Yarny goodness

Yes! Today! The Yarn Swap Box is on its way to Germany! Many New England yarns, unique and handpainted, will find a new home with Nad and the colourful chickens.... here is just a little hint of the 7 lbs of yarny goodness now on an airplane across the seas:



I hope I get to see the wonderful things my swap friend will make with them!

Exciting news - I've mastered the "magic toe-up sock" method! I'm working on John's socks!

I've been spending a long time looking at still photos from Narnia so I can examine the knits in the movie. Lucy's little green/brown knitted cloche hat is what I really want to make - the one she wore on the train! Her coat was darling too. I read that the costumer researched the 40's to find typical patterns and also had vintage-looking materials woven in Australia especially for the costumes. The kid's clothes were made a little small or made to look altered from a larger or smaller size because in the war years new things weren't bought - but new things were made from old things. I remember (well, I wasn't there, but I remember hearing the story - you know what I mean) my Grandmother made a little baby dress for my mother out of her honeymoon suit, which was heavy brown velvet with handmade ecru lace, made in France. My mother had me wear this when I was a baby, too, and carefully laid it away for me. But it disappeared by the time I was old enough to look for it. Somewhere there's a photo....