I am one of those annoying diehard book fans who sit through a movie adaptation and think "But she said that line different in the book! And he completely changed the original intent with that facial expression! Gah!" I remember leaving the theater after seeing either the 4th or 5th Harry Potter movie with my friends and line-for-line QUOTING the book and pointing out the difference in wording. #buzzkill This all to say, I saw Catching Fire last night and was extremely pleased with it. As my favorite book of the trilogy I was most looking forward to this one--I can still nitpick things that weren't ~omg the exact same as the book~ but on the whole I found the mood to be a lot more suitable to Collins' original work than the first movie. And the clothes, oh the clothes! Super inspiring for both knitting and sewing purposes. I spied some great knitwear, shall we take a gander together?
The eponymous shrug/cowl/one sleeved vest thing everyone is in love with. Hella cool but less than practical for my everyday wardrobe. I'm sure I could come up with a look for it but all I forsee is the thing bunching up one side and annoying the hell out of me--you can already tell in the photo above how it's sliding to Katniss' right. The post-apocalyptic version of your pants falling down your ass and having to eternally pull them up; not practical for killing people while wearing. Verdict: Costume (except for a few brave fashionista souls.)
Finnick can has sweater?! Adorbs! Side note: I didn't get involved in the Sam Claflin bash-fest before the movie premiered, since I didn't know who the hell he was until now, but I have no gripes with his performance as Finnick or his looks. Great choice in my opinion. Ok, on to the sweater. My favorite detail is the cables that transform into part of the ribbed collar, so inspirational and reminds me of other pieces that use the same effect like Bristol Ivy's L'Acadie Cardigan. Meh on the weird closures that make me think of binder clips, they fit the movie but are too costume-y for real life and I hate the way they pull the fabric out of whack. Liking the almost faux-lapel look of the collar. Verdict: Wearable, with buttons subbed in for the binder clips.
Katniss' mother's cardigan and Prim's sleeveless vest, not any different from patterns we already know and love! I wanted to put this here to show that it isn't all crazycakes anarchist sweaters. Verdict: Beyond wearable. Almost boring.
This sweater shown in a tiniest fraction of the movie is AMAZING. The directional knitting and modular look to it instantly make me think of Norah Gaughan, and of course colorblocking is in like whoa lately. I think it really highlights J.Law's waist and I love the higher hem at the front. I see this being a lot of fun to recreate, and think of all the color combinations! You could go all Effie Trinket on it and do something crazy like orange, purple and pink. (Not really. That might be overkill.) What I really dislike is that awful shirt underneath it--not only does it ruin the cool high-low hem of the sweater but it looks like a dickey for your crotch. I know it's all the rage in the Capitol right now but Just Say No to crotch bibs. Verdict: @%&*^(@! LOVE IT. Kill the underlayer with fire.
I walked out of the theater thinking about this cowl. I thought it was knit but upon looking at pictures now it looks like it's woven (closer look here.) Still a fiber art, still cool! I bet this could be really easily recreated with a rigid heddle loom and some Noro yarn. I can also imagine a knit version using strategic basketweave/cabling to create a similar look. Slight tangent to make a point--Do you ever look at something, figure it out to look one way and then realize you were completely wrong and it looks totally different? I don't know if this happens as often to non-glasses wearers but this happens a bunch, especially when I don't have my glasses on. And usually what I THINK I saw is more interesting than what is actually real. In this case, I'm digging the woven look but I thought this cowl was completely different and it sparked some cool ideas for me. And that is movie magic. Verdict: Wearable. Weavers, feel the love!
