Seamstress Reacts to Iconic Sewing Scenes 

I hope the next Deadpool movie has a sewing scene that begins with Deadpool saying "This is for you, Bernadette" and then has a perfectly accurate sewing montage.

Actually... your analysis of Deadpool is accurate. He probably doesn't have much nerve endings in his hands, but also he has healing abilities. So yup.

I am surprised the opening of Coraline when the Other Mother is changing and altering the Little Doll that ends up being Little Coraline is not on this list. We get a lot of tailoring and altering and sewing that scene. Yes, it is animation, but the process works and is apparent. If you are thinking of a Part 2, i would recommend that scene.

Bernadette: "She has the thimble on the right finger" Me who's been sewing my whole life: _"There's a right finger?!"_

The Grinch scene has big "I have to finish this cosplay before tomorrow morning and I have never sewn in my life before" energy, but the end result is quite different XD I think another iconic sewing scene in film is Michelle Pfeiffer putting together her pleather Catwoman suit. It's brief and chaotic but the detail of using thimbles and seam-rippers as claws for her gloves is delicious.

Bernadette: They're not wearing a thimble! Me, who hand sews regularly and has never worn a thimble: Wait, people do that?

The Grinch cutting out the fabric like that is totally a nod to the animated film in which the cartoon Grinch cartoonily cuts out his garment in the same magical way. And I think it's amazing that Claire's 18th century dress magically contains at least three times the raincoat fabric of her original raincoat. I remake a lot of clothes from thrift store garments, and your margins for extra fabric are TIGHT!

I love the corner of RU-vid where someone can say "he's laundering collars, which is really exciting!" and mean it. I really appreciate Bernadette's attitude (present here and in all her reaction videos) which is so good natured and makes it clear that, while she's commenting on inaccuracies, she's not throwing shade at the actors or productions.

"Why does he have an industrial sewing machine if he doesn't know how to sew?" Answer: He lives in a dump. He found it, fixed it, and now uses what he has to the best of his abilities. Recycling!

(Also, roast aside, Deadpool has regenerative powers and he's pretty much known for not giving a shit if he hurts himself, so I'd 100% believe he wouldn't bother with a thimble even if he did know what it was and how to use one.)

I have DEFINITELY “sewn” for a good long while without realizing my needle had long since become unthreaded, so for me that scene would not be unrealistic! Also love how Bernadette guessed that Deadpool’s thumbs could regenerate from needle pricks!

I love that you still take into account how movies work (e.g. simple needlework because multiple takes might need to be mixed in post-production). A lot of reaction videos only tear the actors apart for something that's hardly their fault. Wonderful video ♡

For the first Downton Abbey scene, is she familiarising herself with the new sewing machine? If so, simple test seams are quite likely.

I wish you would have taken more time on Deadpool analyzing. He actually goes through a couple trial scenes where he is tweaking the garment because of either functionally or something. I found very interesting to watch because normally when super heroes/vilians/anti heroes make their own costumes it's like 'boom! Master costume maker' not 'well this is garbage'

I laughed at the scene where someone is sewing with an unthreaded machine because I’ve accidentally done that many, many times

To give Easy A a bit of a pass, she is literally sewing a red 'A' to EVERY article of clothing she was planning to wear for the next like month

The reason Olive is going through so much of the red fabric in Easy A is that she isn't making just one A; she's stitching one onto every single one of her new tops.

Wait you guys I guess technically the Anne scene is canon bc Marilla's eyes are going bad, she didn’t realize the thread came undone, but she probably fixes it later.

As I'm sure most people know, Daniel Day-Lewis is a method actor, so for in preparation for his role in Phantom Thread he studied fashion, learned how to cut, drape, and sew. He also appprenticed with the NYC Ballet's costume designer even making some of the costumes. AND he recreated a Balenciaga dress from scratch. Legend.

I went to school with Raquel Cassidy (Baxter, Downton Abbey) and she definitely learned how to sew. We had Bernina electric machines but we also had the old Singer machines which I loved as I was terrified of the speed of the Bernina 🤦‍♀️. Having taken up sewing in recent years I’m surprised how much I remember and how much we learned. My daughter is lucky enough to learn Textiles at school but they haven’t made any clothes.

Bernadette trying to find some way to make the Grinch's choices reasonable. LOL.

I’m Kate Winslet’s defense, I’d forget where my waist is too if a Hemsworth was nearly nude in front of me.

In Downton Abbey, she’s (Baxter) sewing a white apron, she was just helping Mrs. Patmore with an “apron emergency” that’s why she’s sewing really fast. I just LOVE Downton Abbey, the attention to detail’s so masterful.

One of my favorite sewing moments in media, and what inspired me to sew, was the scene from Nightmare Before Christmas where Sally sews herself back together from falling down her tower. Coraline's opening with the doll making is cool too, especially in 3-D.

As an amateur seamstress myself, I can say it is highly accurate to start your sewing machine, have it come unthreaded, and not notice until the end of the seam. Same if the thread breaks/bobbin ends mid seam.

As someone who knits and spins and thus notices immediately when my craft is not accurately depicted in ads or other visual media, I always wondered if sewists and other craftsfolk had the same experience. Turns out the answer is yes! =) Also I love that this isn't a roast or even really criticism, just a gentle observation of "this is accurate/realistic, this is not, but here is why that makes sense."

I’ll never be tired of appreciating all the details that went into the making of Downton Abbey. Seriously, they put so much effort in it, and the result is incredible.

Downton Abbey is a masterpiece, honestly. It's so well done in terms of historical accuracy and all these little details, and I love that you can actually see the gradual progression from Edwardian to 1920's fashion over the course of the series.

The fact that she sounds like an important headmistress from a boarding school while analyzing everything just makes this so much better.

Getting paid to roast your sibling on the internet is truly one of the greatest joys in life ✨

I'm an outlander fan and I just wanna say, Claire did a damn good job on that coat for someone who in the first season basically would only sew battle wounds.

I once worked as a costume designer for a theater play where one of characters is knitting during a scene. The actress asked us, from the costume team, to teach her how to knit so she could actually do something during the scene.

This is like me with knitting in media. I’m obsessed with trying to figure out if the actors can really knit or if anyone at all on the production team even knows what knitting is *flashback to Call the midwife having the girls pretend to KNIT finished crocheted granny squares 😂 *

Re: Anne with an E, I have absolutely not realized when the thread has broken etc and there have been times where it's taken me a good 30 seconds to clue in that I'm sewing with no thread. It can happen, especially if you've got a lot on your mind >_>

The thimble thing is interesting. I've hand sewn for more than twenty-eight years, and I don't use a thimble. I have tried several, but I don't like using them.

"...Is he a villain?" Oh Bernadette, you are so adorable and wonderful and I love our somewhat shared lack of knowledge of Deadpool 😂❤

I can empathize with Marilla as I have continued sewing even when the thread has not been there (in my case, empty bobbin) and not noticed until the end and my two pieces are definitely not attached together as they should be. I'm also so excited that the bookstore I work for will have your book in on it's release date. Huzzah! Thanks again for a wonderful video.

The story of the Grinch (my favorite Christmas movie) gives a bit of context as to why he owns the sewing machine. He lives near the end of the garbage pipe for whoville, basically in the town dump, so his whole home is full of stuff the Whos threw away. That's probably where the machine came from :)

In the movie "The Dressmaker", which is set in the 1950s, Kate Winslett carries a Singer sewing machine like it was a handbag. My grandmother and mother had Singer sewing machines and they weighed a ton. They were made of cast iron and I could barely lift my mother's machine with two hands. The Singer machine that Ms Winslett is sitting at, looks like my grandmother's machine, rather than my mother's, which was new in the early 50s. I would have thought that her character would have had the latest model. It really took me back when her rival appeared, toting a Necchi. I was so curious about them when I was in primary school. They looked modern and technologically superior, compared to the Singers that my family had.

Now I understand that other skilled professionals suffer almost as much as us programmers do when watching media 🤣

The number of times I'm struggling with the sewing and then it suddenly goes well are almost always the times where the bobbin has finished/snapped really quietly and nothing is actually sewn together.

*I don’t use a thimble* Me: “Oh no Bernadette would think I’m not a skilled seamstress” 😂😂😂

A note on the tension of the fabric in The Grinch: My grandma was a sewer and quilter, and she had something she called a quilting frame. Hers could tension a whole King size quilt! They make smaller ones that are quite affordable.

There is a German movie about Margarete Steiff, a seamstress who became famous for her stuffed toy animals (The Steiff Bear being most known). She had polio as a child and thus wasn’t able to use her legs and one arm. There is a brilliant scene in the film where she tries to figure out how to work a sewing machine with just one arm.

a wee tiny bit of insight from a quilter who also loves Alias Grace: typically when you are piecing a block, you do not backstitch. all your seams are concealed within the batting & backing when finishing the quilt, and everything gets very well reinforced during the actual "quilting" part. so while yes, when i hand sew a quilt block, i do knot off my thread, teeeeeechnically you could get away with not doing so :)

In the Phantom Thread the main female lead’s character is a waitress who was “discovered” by DDL’s character as his new model/muse. I think it’s almost on point that she isn’t seen sewing because it reflects her role in that design house as not being one of the seamstresses

My sister and I actually had the ‘where’s the waist’ conversation at work. She was insisting that it was the high-hip point, whereas I was completely certain it’s at that natural, creasy bend spot. Thank you for confirming my point!!

Just a note on the "stopping the treadle machine *before* putting her hand on the wheel" comment. I have a treadle machine that I've used for my sewing for decades. With a two-foot treadle technique, I can stop and restart my machine repeatedly without my hand ever touching the wheel. I just assumed she was doing the same thing. This is one reason I prefer the treadle machine, as it frees up both hands for fabric and thread manipulation.

14:05 Honestly, I would call Deadpool one of the ultimate incarnations of a chaotic neutral moral alignment. A friend from one of my old church groups described him as “he’d help you save the world, but then shoot your kneecap to get to the last cheese puff.”

My favorite cinematic sewing scene is from Three Amigos. The Amigos ask the town what they are really good at so that they can use their skills to defeat a gang of violent, murderous bandits and the villagers say that they are good at sewing. Which leads to a montage of them making Amigo outfits for everyone and at one point Martin Short says "sew, very old one...sew like the wind."

With Alias Grace, I thought it was interesting she was hand piecing without paper piecing. Which you can do, especially when working with rectangles, but you wind up with a scrappier quilt, without the nice, sharp corners and perfectly even, parallel rectangles you see on her finished log cabin blocks. With English paper piecing (which started in the late 1700's), you'd have the various pattern pieces needed to make your finished block cut out of cardstock. You'd then pick a piece of fabric big enough to cover the front of the cardstock and fold over the back to provide a seam allowance, and then baste stich the fabric to the card. The card holds the fabric in the desired shape and correct size, with sharp corners or even complicated curves, and removes the guessing about seam allowances. Then you'd simply use your preferred joining stich to hand sew the fabric shapes together, along the edges of the cards. After a piece is fully stitched into place on your quilt block, the basting is snipped, and the card removed and used again. It would be difficult for her to make some of the quilts she mentions, especially ones with lots of triangles, without paper pieces, or at least far more difficult to make them as nicely as the end results shown.

Here’s a super odd one that is from 70s tv land: the mother, Olivia, in the series The Waltons. Set in the Depression, the home in that series had her “Sewing room” (machine, ironing board and dress form with WIP) located on the landing of the farmhouse ( pretty accurate when you lived with seven kids and your in-laws in a single farmhouse). Watching that actress (Michael Learned) bake, sew, and iron was always a distinct pleasure-even the way she sprinkled the clothes with her hands when ironing made it clear that she had done these things since childhood ( or closely observed people who did). I watch the early episodes all the time when I’m feeling nostalgic for those simpler dramas.

I will say for Easy A, she wears those patches on her clothes for the rest of the film, so I always read that scene as she was patching a lot of corsets and clothes with those scraps. Fabulous video, as always! The cartoon grinch sewing machine scene is why I have been scared to learn how to use one, I must admit 😅

Michelle Phyffer's catwoman sewing her costume out if her mac in Batman Returns is rage sewing at it's finest.

With the Outlander scene where she was folding and sewing... I believe she was making the hidden pockets to hold her medicine vials.

You probably already know about The House of Eliott, but if you don't I can recommend it! It's a 90s series about two sisters who starts a fashion house in London in the 1920s. It's all about sewing and beautiful clothes for three seasons straight! (The clothes from the series were on tour back then, I saw them in Stockholm, they were absolutely stunning!)

I was actually surprised you mentioned thimble usage so much! My spouse, his mother, and both his grandmothers hand sew most things! Quilts and other bedding are their specialty. None of them ever use a thimble, and they chuckle and shake their heads because I use one. I just assumed I was an overly cautious beginner.

“……Is he a villain?” Not roasting, just laughing at how adorable that question was! Certainly Bernadette Banner isn’t required to be familiar with the Marvel universe, (I be surprised as hell if she was), but that was just cute, lol. ❤️

I love how Bernadette comments on these movies in a way that speaks highly both on the craft of sewing and the craft of acting!

" A note of frivolity for our own amusement.". You never fail to deliver. You are an incredibly skilled woman in several, disparate vocations. I mean what skills overlap with video production? Your sense of humor is wonderful as well. I am saddened Mr. Guinea pig was not somehow included. Lol. Seriously, your videos are simply the best.

This is like me watching artists paint in movies. They always conveniently skip over all the sketching, thumbnailing, base layers, and go right to finished thing (while idly brushing it with a paintless brush of course)

there are a lot of high quality images available of Claire's outfit from season 3. I was able to zoom in pretty close and it's actually insane how you're able to tell apart her machine sewing, the original industrial sewing of the coat and additional hand sewing. if one was to study the garments up close it would most definitely tell a very detailed story. imagine finding something like that from 1700s. TIME TRAVEL CONFIRMED! haha

What I appreciate in the Deadpool movie is the, albeit short, sequence where we move from mock up to bootleg suit and then to the final product. And we see him use a preliminary version of his suit in action, meaning he tries different things to see what works for him.

The Disney movie Enchanted has some very interesting 'sewing' scenes...or maybe garment production out of curtains, etc.

I love that you acknowledge that somebody doesn't actually sew, but never roast them for that. I do have a lot of fun with these videos. And I'm happy for replenishment on videocontent - I found your channel about 2 weeks ago and started binge watching... who needs Netflix and co.

I love how the title of Bernadette's book "Make, Sew and Mend" echoes the WWII British slogan "Make-do and mend". This book is definitely going on my birthday wish list!

If I remember correctly, in Easy A the character actually sews red A on each item of her wardrobe. Then the number of scraps makes sense.

I have accidentally “sewn” without thread in the needle a few times, usually when the thread broke, but I’m pretty much a novice when it comes to sewing machines.

To be fair, in Easy A she's cutting lots of A's out because she's sewing them to a whole SLEW of outfits, not just the one in the clip!

YES! You took the Outlander scene. :D I jumped up when I watched it because she pointed out to have included pockets in the dress and then I had to explain to my SO for 5 minutes why I found it so funny. I mean: It has pockets!?

Yay for Downton! I’m so happy to hear that they’re truly that accurate in not only their historical depictions but also their seemingly menial/mundane daily tasks! 🙌🏻

If you’re looking for more suggestions I’d very much like to see you have a go at the pilot episode of Our Flag Means Death where the pirate crew all sew flags for the ship. Since the show takes place in 1717 I’d also be very interested in hearing your opinion about the show costumes 😄

Oh, what a joy to have a (niche) community of sewers! It makes me feel much less alone and my interests not understood. Thank you to all and especially Bernadette.

Re Deadpool, you can sew spandex, especially doing applique, with a straight stitch. I make stretch cosplay and skating costumes and many involve straight stitch while stretching the fabric slightly. It's usually not an issue unless it's a seam that goes around the body

My wife and I own a tailoring/alterations shop and because of this it makes us hyper aware of these types of things. It’s sooooo funny the things we find cringy in these scenes lol

Bernadette giving a genuine breakdown and critique of the Grinch sewing is hilarious to me 😂

I'd like to see the movie sewing sequence of Scarlett O'Hara constructing an entire outfit out of those green velvet curtains.

The title of your forthcoming book reminds me that during the age of sail, sailors of the Royal Navy were occasionally given an afternoon off as a "make and mend day". Sailors were not supplied with uniforms at that time so they would make their own trousers and shirts and, of course, mend them as needed. This, and your references to thimbles, also reminds me my father, a veteran of the RCN of WW2, who one day was delighted to find a sailmaker's palm in a surplus story on Cape Cod. Such a device, worn on the hand, allows the user to push large needles through thick fabrics such as sailcloth or leather.

I just watched this episode of Outlander. I have another hypothesis for your comment on Claire sewing things on the fold. I think they were depicting her sewing a number of pockets she put into the dress to conceal the modern contraband she was traveling with.

Am I the only one would love to see her recreate that outlander dress? I think it looks so cool.

Having sewn multiple times without noticing my machine came unthreaded, I'll give the "Anne with an E" clip a pass LMAO

I have never used a thimble as I was not taught to use when I started sewing at 12. I have tried to use one as an adult and find it quite cumbersome and awkward...perhaps I should practice! My grandmother (that I didn't know very well), made patterns from newspaper and modified old wool coats for her children. I wish I could have learned her skills!

I'd love to see you reviewing "El Tiempo Entre Costuras," or "The Time in Between," a Spanish TV series about a dressmaker who doubles as a spy during WW2. It used to be on Netflix.

Oh my god, when I see people massage in movies and TV shows I think it's so funny. Cause as a massage therapist I can immediately tell that they have 0 experience. The way they stand, the way they move, what they focus on, all of it is very telling. I love this video and I hope that more people post reactions of people portraying their craft in movies and shows. It's fun. Thank you

One if the things I loved in Deadpool is that his costume has stages, so it shows him trying out different things that don't work and refining based on what he needs. It doesn't ask us believe he just made the best thing the first try. I have to assume there's a pile of failed costumes sitting in the corner that didn't work - perhaps including the one that had straight stitching instead of zigzag 😂

I love that last mention hahaha. “Oh look. You’re already in costume. On set with you!” “No wait this is just my every day outfit?!” “ON SET!!!” Lolol

for that grinch thing it looks like a holder we use for tanning hides, it holds the skin taught so a stone can be run over it to ready it for drying etc.

if you make a part 2 i’d HIGHLY recommend ‘the outfit’ bc it shows some (i think, good) scenes of buttonholes + buttons, pad stitching, etc. and lots of hand stitching it’s also just a super good thriller/crime drama :]

If you haven't seen it yet, please look up The House of Eliott. It's a BBC series from the 1990's set in the 1920's. Two sisters are left penniless by their spendthrift father. They put their sewing skills (they made all their own clothes) and gift for fashion design to use, first by apprenticing with dressmakers and then starting their own parlor dressmaking business. In time they launch a fashion house with its own collections. The series starts in 1920 and finishes in 1928. There are many sewing scenes of course. Most of the machines are hand operated and not electric. Years ago I loaned the series to the person who handles the costume collection at the local historical society. In her opinion it was the most accurate portrayal of 1920's fashions that she had ever seen. By the way, many costumes used in the series showed up in later seasons of Downton Abbey as well as other period pieces. I would be interested to hear your opinion.

So happy you watched phantom thread, I was hoping to see it in one of your costume reviews! The main female character is actually NOT a seamstress, she just gets more and more involved in the work of the house, so I'd say it's more realistic that she gets a simple task to do slowly lol

Costume stitcher for film/TV here 👋I work on super suits in my day-to-day, and we do indeed use straight stitch for stretch materials. Usually you would use a short stitch and hold a bit of tension on the fabric so it is slightly stretched as it goes through the machine.

OMG - you made me laugh out LOUD when you said "Maybe the Grinch is making a mock-up!" HYSTERICAL! I lover your commentary!!

You should absolutely see The Outfit. It’s about a tailor and He was padstitching. The star Mark Rylance spent time with Savile Row tailors and I was fairly convinced.

I'd love to see your reaction to the beginning of Coraline, there's a lot of detail on it!

Deadpool started out in the comics as a henchman, or someone in service to a main villain. But at some point, he transitioned to more of an anti-hero. Anti-heroes typically are good guys who don't follow the hero traits, and there are times his character does state he's not a hero. Also, Deadpool would be classified as a "Super", because while he does use a lot of normal tech (guns, swords, the odd Zamboni, etc...) he does have a few powers. His main power is an accelerated healing factor that's comically overpowered. (And, yes, they do play it up for laughs at times.) He also has quick reflexes and a mild case of super strength. Also, it's kind of implied Deadpool, at the start of the movie, doesn't know what he's doing regarding his suit/costume. In one of the montages scenes, you do see his suit evolve over time. It's also not a unique theme, as many movies have joked about this. Some of the Spiderman movies show Peter Parker in a really garbage suit when he tries to become a prize fighter and inadvertently lets the guy who would go on to kill Peter's Uncle Owen walk away from a robbery. Mystery Men has a scene parodying the costume scene by having the crew in the movie sewing new costumes for themselves. Not everyone is a tech tycoon billionaire that can have factories make their suits for them. (Tony Stark/Ironman and Bruce Wayne/Batman). Also, "NO CAPES!" (Incredibles reference. You'd like Edna Mode.)

A lovely little video! Enjoyed all the closer looks, especially the out of left field ones like the Grinch and Deadpool. The awkward fumbling with superhero terminology was amusing! And your sibling's editor's commentary is sublime. lol

I never in my life thought I'd see such contrasting Fandoms as sewing techniques and.... Deadpool show up in the same edutainment piece. Bless you and this video. 🤣

I belonged to a quilting guild, or two, many moons ago and we would joke that quilts, quilting or actual sewing showed up in nearly all of the tv shows or films we saw. We would also joke about how wrong all those references could go, such as a film about the Civil War would have a 40’s Sun Bonnet Sue quilt on a bed. But what was ultimately the very best example of our obsession to find sewing everywhere was a group of us went to Silence of the Lambs, and the suit made from skin appeared on the movie screen, the funniest of us exclaimed quite loudly “I TOLD you sewing was everywhere….” I still say that to myself whenever I see sewing in films! 🤣😂🤓

The actor/talent dichotomy fascinates me. I like when they can find a way to put someone with the skill "stunt manning" in the task itself, as you reference with Alias Grace. Like in Titanic, the close-ups shots of Jack's hands sketching Rose are actually James Cameron's hands. No idea if he can sketch that well, but it was a cool move.

I’m not a professional seamstress at all, but when I’m sewing by hand I sometimes don’t use a thimble. As an actress, I just jotted down mentally to, if needed, use one in any on-camera sewing situation, in case Bernadette watches it ;))