JANUARY 25, 2024 KATE MOTHES

Cue the delicate clicking of knitting needles, and we’re welcomed into Samantha Moore’s charming reflection on the craft of healing.

“I think people, they need something that’s for them, just to concentrate on,” says the voiceover in the opening scene of the short documentary “Visible Mending,” published recently as part of the Op-Docs series from The New York Times. Another adds, “There’s something about, you know, when your life is sort of falling apart, you need to have—create a purpose in it for yourself. And if that purpose is quite small, it doesn’t matter. It’s important. It’s something tangible.”

The voices belong to members of the Merrymakers, a small group of older knitters in rural Shropshire, England. Cue the delicate swishing and clicking of knitting needles and a yarn ball on the loose, and we’re welcomed into a charming, thoughtful reflection on the craft of healing.

Shrewsbury-based filmmaker Samantha Moore (previously) began interviewing participants five years ago, spurred to make a documentary after her mother developed dementia in her early 60s and forgot how to read patterns. “After years of having her knit for me, I taught myself how to knit by watching YouTube tutorials,” Moore says in an article accompanying the film. “As I learned more, and my mom’s health declined, I began to understand the solace that knitting brings.”[…]

More: ‘Visible Mending’ Weaves Tales of Emotional Repair, One Stitch at a Time — Colossal