THE owner of a punk jumper business in Kidderminster has been headhunted to provide her knitwear for the new Danny Boyle-directed television series about the Sex Pistols.
Caroline Catmur was contacted by a producer back in November to ask if she could knit a number of jumpers for an undisclosed film about the 1970s punk scene. It was only recently that she discovered her clothing creations would be featured in the new FX series, Pistol, based on the iconic punk band.
"They had seen my jumpers online," said Caroline. "They bought a couple and decided they wanted me to make them for the project they were working on.
"I didn't know what it was for at the time, it was all very hush hush. I thought it was a student film or something, they just said it was about the old punk scene in the 70s.
"Then I saw in the press that this Danny Boyle series was coming out, so I asked them about it and they told me, yes, that's what it was for. I got butterflies!
"They had 12 jumpers off me in the end and I had to complete them by March, which was a big ask because I was juggling lots of customer orders as well. I'm knitting until 3am in the morning most mornings.
"I'm not allowed to say which jumpers are being used, but I can say they will feature in the shop scene - inside Vivienne Westwood's first shop that she opened in London. It's all very exciting, I still can't quite believe it."
Former retail worker and mum-of-three Caroline, 54, began making jumpers three years ago.
She knitted one for her brother-in-law and when he posted a photograph of it online, Caroline started receiving requests.
The hobby eventually blossomed into a business, Punk It Up HQ, which is based in Caroline's garden shed.
"I had to stop working a few years ago because I got arthritis in both of my knees so I started thinking about what I could do instead," said Caroline. "I made a jumper for my brother-in-law and it all went a bit mad from there!
"The most popular jumper I do is the Dennis the Menace style black and red jumper. I try and do whatever people ask for - they're all in that punk style.
"I used to be a punk in the 70s/80s and I'd knit these jumpers for my friends. I created a lot of my own clothes back in those days, I was always tie-dyeing stuff or making saris or knitting holey jumpers.
"I would go out and buy something or make it myself and alter it to make it my own.
"I've still got my messy hair - although it's not as messy as it was back then - and I've still got my music posters up around my house."
Caroline's handmade jumpers include a 70s bat wing style, stripey mohair, and a loose knit style covered in large holes.
Caroline sells her jumpers on Facebook and also supplies to punkrockshop.co.uk, and to allagesrecords.bigcartel.com, based in London.
Pistol, a six-episode series based on Steve Jones' memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, has now began filming, although a release date is yet to be confirmed.
It will star Toby Wallace from Babyteeth as Steve Jones, Anson Boon from Crawl and 1917 as John Lydon, Louis Partridge from Enola Homes and Medici as Sid Vicious, and Jacob Slater as Paul Cook.
Additional cast members include Thomas-Brodie Sangster from The Queen’s Gambit and Game of Thrones as Malcolm McLaren, Tallulah Riley from Westworld as Vivienne Westwood, and Maisie Williams also from Game of Thrones as punk icon Jordan.
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