NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – There were two things that were always guaranteed with Mister Rogers– a friendly smile and a cozy knit sweater.
Tom Hanks brings both to the screen of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” in which he plays the late television icon. What you might be surprised to find out is that the yarn used to make Hanks’ sweaters for the film was purchased right here in our neighborhood of western Massachusetts.
Costume designer Yasemin Esmek told the New York Post she was dissatisfied with the yarn she bought back home in New Jersey, so she traveled to WEBS in Northampton to get what she needed for the iconic sweaters.
Co-owner of WEBS, Kathy Elkins, told 22News the staff remembers serving Esmek, but were unaware that the yarn was being used for the movie until the article came out.
“I was absolutely stunned. I started getting Facebook posts and links and a couple text messages and it was really exciting,” Elkins said. “It’s really an honor for one of our customers to be selected to design the sweaters for the movie but then to choose and shop here to get the yarn.”
Elkins said there are a lot of great yarn shops on the East Coast, so it’s extra meaningful that the designer chose their family store. Kathy and her husband Steve Elkins are second generation owners to the store that first opened in Amherst in the 1970s.
“A Beautiful Neighborhood” debuted in theaters on November 22.
History of WEBS
This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers in a scene from “A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood,” in theaters on Nov. 22. (Lacey Terrell/Sony-Tristar Pictures via AP) 
– This June 28, 1989, file photo, shows Fred Rogers as he rehearses the opening of his PBS show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” during a taping in Pittsburgh. Rogers’ legacy back in the spotlight, PBS wants viewers to remember that public television was the longtime home of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” PBS stations will air the acclaimed documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” as part of the “Independent Lens” showcase. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) 
Fred Rogers, right, talks with David Newell, a.k.a. Speedy Delivery’s Mr. McFeely, during a rehearsal for a segment of his television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” in Pittsburgh on June 8, 1993. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) 
This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks, left, and Matthew Rhys in a scene from “A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood,” in theaters on Nov. 22. (Lacey Terrell/Sony-Tristar Pictures via AP) 
This image released by Sony Pictures shows director Marielle Heller, left, and Tom Hanks on the set of “A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood,” in theaters on Nov. 22. (Lacey Terrell/Sony-Tristar Pictures via AP)
