Thistle Hill Weavers at the Movies

Rabbit Goody's Thistle Hill Weavers has created textiles for the movies for almost 20 years.  Set and wardrobe designers know they can rely on us for historical accuracy.  We've built our reputation on completely custom fabrics, trims, and carpet; an ability to reproduce samples from almost any era; our willingness to weave short runs of custom fabric; and a very fast turnaround time (sometimes as little as 5 days for the film industry).

Rose Blanket for Master and Commander

Working for the movies is an exciting, creative, fast-paced experience. Typically, the process begins with a phone call or an email.  A set designer is working on a biopic about John Adams and needs guidance about how to dress an 18th-century bed and how to make an actress look convincingly like she's weaving on an 18th-century loom.  A costume designer wants authentic clothing for English children fleeing the London bombing at the start of World War II.  A props manager needs blankets that might have been carried on a wagon train across the U.S.

Designers always work closely with the head of the company, Rabbit Goody.  They rely on her extensive knowledge of historic textiles and the history of technology as well as her expertise in weaving.

Sometimes designers call with a vague idea about the feel of fabrics they want to use.  Make it "meaty, organic, and shiny" were the instructions from Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as we began working on fabrics for the centaurs in Aslan's army, fantasy creatures in the great battle for C. S. Lewis' Narnia.  Rabbit wove several dozen hand samples and shipped them off to New Zealand, where Disney was shooting the film.  After additional consultations between Rabbit and the costume designers, we took the handwoven designs and "translated" them to the power loom.

Fabric for Jude Law's jacket in The Road To Perdition Working with the movies is always a process.  It often happens very quickly--a designer may want to move from an idea to an actual fabric in as little as a week--but there are many phone calls, emails, and sometimes visits back and forth as adjustments are made to each fabric to get it exactly right.   During the process, we try to remember that Oscars are awarded for costume and set design!

Here's a sampling of our work for films, including some not yet released:

A Christmas Carol

In this digital adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic story, you will see carpet, blankets, sheets, and upholstery woven by Thistle Hill.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This installment of the Indiana Jones series is set in Peru in the 1950s.  We wove ponchos for John Hurt, loin cloth fabric for 60 Peruvian warriors, and fabric that became the uppers for women's espadrille-type shoes.

John Adams

This HBO miniseries follows the life of our second president, John Adams, from his early years to his death.  We wove clothing fabric for John Adams, Abigail Adams, their children, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Samuel Adams.  We also wove blankets for the Mohawk Indians, made upholstery fabric for John Adams' chair, and wove a special blanket for John Adams' bed.

Sam Houston's blanket from The Alamo

Leatherheads

This film, directed by and starring George Clooney, depicts the beginnings of professional football in the 1920s. We wove suiting fabric for George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, and the other principals in the film.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This dramatization of an F. Scott Fitzgerald story stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.  We wove clothing fabric for both of them.

There Will Be Blood

This film stars Daniel Day Lewis in an epic about the beginning of the Texas oil industry.  We wove clothing fabric for Mr. Lewis.

No Country for Old Men

The Coen brothers directed this film set in Texas in the 1970s--a cowboy murder mystery based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy.  We wove shirt fabric for the leading men.

The Prestige

This film is set in London in the 1880s.  It focuses on two magicians and stars Michael Caine and Christian Bale.  We wove clothing fabric for Mr. Caine and Mr. Bale.

Transformers

We wove blankets and coating fabric for a flashback scene that shows arctic explorers in the 1890s.

Polar Express

We wove the little boy's red and white blanket in this digitized adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's classic children's story.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

We wove the fabric for the children's clothing in London during WWII as well as tunics for the centaurs in Narnia.

Cinderella Man

We wove clothing fabric for stars Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger.

Master and Commander

We wove the First Mate's great coat, the striped vests on the sailors, Russell Crowe's rose blanket, hundreds of blankets for the sailors, and the large flag flying on the French ship.

Road to Perdition

We wove Tom Hanks' overcoat (in several weights), Jude Law's suit, and Tom Hanks' suit.

We also wove wardrobe and set fabrics for Sweet and Lowdown; The Alamo; A & E's The Crossing; The Talented Mr. Ripley; Felicity: An American Girl Adventure; Amistad; Titanic; O Brother, Where Art Thou; Life; Beowulf; Bewitched; Christmas with the Kranks;The Scarlet Letter; and A Midwife's Tale.  Our owner, Rabbit Goody, worked as a consultant on Wanted, and we supplied the early barn frame loom for the opening sequence in the film.

To see pictures of our textiles that have appeared in recent films, be sure to check out our gallery page.