Stream and Seam into the New Year
Eleven films for textile lovers to snuggle in with and enjoy...
As the door opens on a new year, fire up your imagination with a film or two. These each feature the world of fabric and textiles, threads and needles. You may find them on additional streaming services than those listed.
Do you have a film to add to the list? Or a favorite book? I’d love to learn about them.
Bright Star (2009) (1 hr. 59 min.) (Amazon)
Poet John Keats falls in low with Fanny, a woman passionate about creating fashion by hand.
Bunkar: The Last of the Varanasi Weavers (2018) (1 hr. 7 min.) (Amazon)
A documentary sharing the lives of hand-loom weavers in India.
Coco before Chanel (2009) (1 hr. 46 min.) (Amazon)
Audrey Tautou stars as Gabriella Chanel in the years leading up to her phenomenal success as the creator of classic fashion.
How to Make an American Quilt (1988) (1 hr. 57 min.) (Amazon, Netflix)
Wynona Ryder joins with Anne Bancroft in this book-based story of a young women who spends the summer with her grandmother’s quilting circle.
Mahogany (1975) (109 min.) (Turner Classic Movies)
Phenomenal Motown singer Diana Ross stars with Anthony Perkins (the original Norman Bates!) in this tale of a struggling fashion designer.
McQueen (2018) (111 min.)(Amazon, Hulu)
A documentary which looks at the life and work of fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
Phantom Thread (2018) (2 hr. 10 min.) (Amazon)
Set in a midcentury London fashion house, Daniel Day Lewis finds his muse and match.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (1 hr. 49 min.) (Amazon)
Watch it again — College has not prepared Anne Hathaway for her first job in the fashion industry with steamroller boss Meryl Streep.
The Dressmaker (2015) (1 hr. 58 min.) (Amazon)
Kate Winslet, a dressmaker, tries to prove you can go home again when she travels back to her Australian rural hometown.
The Luddites (1988) (52 min.) (YouTube)
Thames Television dramatized documentary about the trauma of early industrialization on textile workers.
The Weavers of Maheshwar (2016) (30 min.) (YouTube)
Beautiful evocative images of a small town of silk weavers and their efforts to maintain their craft and make a living.
Coming this Thursday, January 6 live online
Lace: So Lovely There Was a Law Against It
Thursday, January 6, 2022
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Free
Open to All
Join me live online this coming Thursday as I discuss lace.
The Loudoun County Public Library has asked me to share the story of lace. I’m looking forward on expanding the information I shared earlier in the Silk Mill. There will be the opportunity for questions.
Thank you for reading my newsletter, The Silk Mill, and sharing your thoughts. As this year comes to a close, I extend to each and every one of you good wishes for a new year full of love, health, kindness, and good cheer.
Diane