Textiles on Film

The manufacture of textile machinery in Oldham - men make the machines that produce the cloth.

WWII offered new career opportunities for women, but not all men were happy about it…

From socks and vests to fancy knitted sportswear, Meridian Ltd aim to clothe the nation from the region where the industry was born.

The dawn of the Industrial Revolution lives on in Nottinghamshire. Ancient hand knitting machines produce lace work that cannot be matched by twentieth century automation.

Grinning textile workers head through the factory gates, another shift completed.

The warp, the weft, and a good old yarn! Hugh Mackays display an explosion of colourful 1970s carpet designs in Durham.

Are you being served? A bewildered shop girl gets a boutique introduction to an innovative fabric.

"The romance of Pesco underwear," as produced by Peter Scott Knitwear (aka Pesco), in Hawick.

Have you ever wondered how dad's distinctive cardigan was made? This colourful industrial film shows how the Co-op's Nelson Mills in Staffordshire does it.

See how steam powered the textile industry of Lancashire.

The industrial Midlands pioneered textile production; from the framework knitters of Nottinghamshire to the birth of the modern factory in the Derwent valley in Derbyshire.

This 'Buy British' clothing campaign is more than patriotism, it's the last line of defence for an industry facing extinction.

A Ghanaian fashion student and a Nigerian squash player are among the African community making a life in 70s Britain in this edition of the magazine show.

Blanket advertising in this promotional film for Witney's celebrated woollen ware.

Not a politician in sight in this clever Conservative election campaign film.

Maxi Ways to Dress

Slow fashion offers career opportunities for the youth of Yorkshire

A close look at the spinning mule - a vital cog in the workings of the Lancashire cotton industry.

Women wear the trousers: sample the latest Parisian couture with this pretty stencil-coloured piece from Eve's Film Review.

As full of holes as his Aertex shirt, Uncle Jeff’s tall tales are captured in crayon in this animated cinema ad

With nails filed smooth to avoid snagging, the expert staff of this Derbyshire nylons firm are even ready to tackle the mystery of the seamed seamless stocking.

Victorian Manchester mill workers enjoy the novelty of a moving picture camera.

Wonderful film of seven women parading the latest in 1920s beachwear, including a stylish hat that can be worn while diving, at Chiswick outdoor pool.

Truro treated to models displaying the fashion of the age and a fashionista discusses the latest 1970s trends.

A snazzy intro to the ancient textile-dyeing technique taking the 70s fashion world by storm.

Swinging 60s meets capital of cool in a fun and funky TV magazine show aimed at Canadian audiences.

A passionate post-war plea for workers to return to the cotton industry after decades of decline, framed as an argument between father and daughters.

Victorian textile workers at a mill near Manchester

It’s the 60s – what better way to sell wool than animating a spurious fable about a mile-high naked princess?

A thoroughly engrossing 1920s guide to the making of woollen undies – and a tongue-in-cheek demo of why pre-shrunk are best.

50s fashion meets carpet kitsch in a futuristic fantasy of domestic bliss - courtesy of versatile, magical Bri-Nylon.

Lively Lancashire millworkers, including young boys and girls, at the mill gates.

The hustle and bustle of Edwardian lace-workers heading home after a morning shift.

The annual ceremony around the coronation of Macclesfield's silk queen will worm its way into your heart.

A fascinating journey around the entire process of a typical 1930s textile mill, with young women workers, all sporting the same hairstyles, labouring at hypnotic machines.

With a leaking roof and flaking brickwork Cressbrook's 18th century textile mill is crumbling into the Derbyshire countryside.

If your interests happen to include rainwear, concrete in Africa, science in Sevenoaks, and gbedu drum music, then this is your lucky day...

From a farm near the Conway river to a nearby woollen mill, see how wool gets from the sheep to the shelves.

The end of an era for a piece of Lancashire's steam-powered industrial heritage.

A vibrant impression of dinner hour at an Edwardian cotton mill.

A tour of cotton production at a Preston mill - for the benefit of the future George VI

Unable to tell a Wilton from an Axminster? Baffled by your shags, yarns and hanks? Help is at hand with this in-depth guide to Kidderminster's carpet industry.

Spinning silk with speed and precision in Staffordshire.

Clark's Factory in its 150th year

The challenges posed by the emergence of synthetic fibres for Britain's traditional textile industry.

Victorian women workers (and a few men) hasten through the gates of the hosiery works after their shift.

Jacquards, bobbins, warp and looms: Holmes and Baxter Limited of Nottingham demonstrate the intricate art of the lace factory.

For the very last time Albert, at 73, makes the work of weaving the large willow bobbin baskets, skeps, look easy, having devoted his entire working life to perfecting his art.

A cartoon fantasy brings fabric patterns to life in a literal soap opera - yet even here the reality of Home Front life creeps in

Ladybird is best, the 20th century's leading children’s brand

Edwardian textile workers leave a Dundee mill.

Daybrook Laundry in Nottingham has turned a dull job into an art-form of washing, pressing, folding and sorting. Who needs one of those new fangled home washing machines anyway?

An intriguing insight into the extraordinary life of Lord Kagan, Jewish escapee from the Nazis, clothier to the Royals, and close friend of Harold Wilson and KGB spy Vaygauskas.

Spinners and weavers jostle through the exit of one of Stockport’s largest textile mills.

The process of cloth production in Bury - from delivery to dispatch.

Llanrwst show is full of wool related activities that include shearing, spinning and a fashion show where the garments are all made of wool.

Let me tell you a secret - how a friend's advice on shopping wisely restores harmony in the family home.

January Sales

A bright future seems to be looming as the mule spun woollen yarns are warped and wefted on the shuttle, while the women mill workers scuttle between machines with baskets of cones.

The lesson here is clear, do the right things in the workplace – wear totectors and Rozalex barrier cream – and all will be well, and if not there is a nurse on hand with a plaster.

A fun Co-op fashion parade welcomes in the bad taste 70s.

Students at Leeds are taken from the wool on the back of sheep on the Yorkshire moors to pyjamas in Marks and Spencer’s, learning everything that happens in between.

Silk production in Cheshire, using time-tested methods to produce a perfect product.

Fabrics galore burst into a Britain just recovering from war rationing, with mohair velvets, moth protected carpets and waterproofed textiles adorning London Routemasters.

"From flower to fabric" - the story of the Lancashire cotton industry.

"Never let it be forgotten - what the country owes to cotton!" How a quality product and a happy workforce can enhance national wellbeing.

Plymouth’s Berkertex Spinning Yarns

Axminster Carpets by appointment

Handloom weaving, and its place in the history of textile production.

From woolly sheep to satisfied customer - come and see how to produce a Co-operative coat.

A piece of advice - happy housewives and homemakers buy British cotton.

Fashion through the ages

"Washes like linen, wears like hide". What is it? Linenide, of course. Find out more here.

Dulverton Textiles in Tatters

Workers of all ages depart Oldroyd's wool mill – and the filmmakers' camera is a subject of curiosity.

As the water wheel turns, mill workers produce woollen cloth in the traditional, time-honoured way.

The looms of Lancashire: how the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution created the thriving textile industry.

The NEEB sells an electrical future for modern homes and industries in the 1960s.

Miniskirt - Passion and Power

Redruth Cottage Industry

Forget the carding machine - you need a lap convertor. Puzzled? Find out more here.

Turning raw cotton into curtains, clothing and handkerchiefs - take a look at how this happens.

Mill workers and machines - a detailed look at the Lancashire textile industry.

Vintage St.Ives

Come to Cheshire to visit "the most famous silk firm in the greatest silk town in both hemispheres".

Warp twisting and high speed pirn winding? Come inside a Lancashire mill to find out more.

Analysis through action - the testing of textile machinery in the mill.

Beau Dingles

Sophisticated, smart and surreal, this Courtaulds’ fashion show ventures well beyond the confines of the catwalk.

Bridport Rope; plenty to go around

A wartime family look on in amazement as their old clothes offer useful advice on how to make their clothing coupons go further.

The extended family of an affluent woollen manufacturer from Yorkshire enjoy their pastimes, at home and at the seaside, while those who work in the mills enjoy a coach trip out.

"Fit for an Earl is the graceful Nottingham girl." But will they grace the city's textiles factories for much longer and what future is there for the city built on the work of women?

Fashion tips for skinflint flappers and other invaluable stratagems, brought to you by 1920s cinemagazine Hints and Hobbies.

Who needs an iron when you have a jam jar to hand? The Hints and Hobbies team return for the last surviving edition of the weekly cinemagazine.

A sheep-to-shop tour of production of the ultra-soft fabric in its Nottinghamshire birthplace.

Men at work in the Afon Leather Ltd tannery in Llanelli that produced leather for the fashion trade during the 1960s/70s.

"Quality maintained means orders gained" - how good practice in the cotton industry benefits everyone.

Enter a giant of the Belfast linen industry and get a joyful glimpse of workers in this bustling York Street mill.

The Leri river fuels the Lerry Tweed mills’ machinery and provides excellent water for the making of tweed, woven by hand at these mills in Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion.

A visit to Rock Mill, a woollen mill on the banks of the river Clettwr at Capel Dewi near Llandysul, in the heart of west Wales, where a father and son carry on the family business.

Ideas for trendy knitwear - and promising careers - in this peppy promo film for Courtaulds spinning factories

A last look at the mighty steam engines that once powered Lancashire's mills.

"Britain's bread hangs by Lancashire's thread" – cotton, Britain's great post-war hope.

Escape into the kaleidoscopic world of 1960s fashion, where poodles and their glamorous owners sport matching hand-knitted outfits

School uniforms needn't be dull and uncomfortable thanks to man-made, revolutionary thread Crimplene.

Get the speeches over with, we want the fashion show! Lancashire Cotton Fair opens in Manchester

Spinning a yarn: an eye-opening tour behind the scenes at a top carpet manufacturer

A heated canteen discussion segues from football to trade tariffs in this Conservative campaign film

A richly-textured tribute to the king of manmade fibres

A portrait of the British fashion industry that patronises its African intended audience