Knitting for the war effort

While the Australian diggers were fighting the Second World War on the battlefronts of Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific, those left at the home front were bolstering the forces’ efforts armed with knitting needles and skeins of wool.

Women (generally) and children knitted at home, at schools, on public transport, in groups and in public places. They produced socks, scarves, hats, jumpers, gloves and balaclavas by the thousands.

The tradition started during the first World War and by World War II, it was endemic. Able-bodied women were expected to work in paid-employment during the war, but for those who were house-bound due to age, illness or caring for young children or the elderly, knitting was one way they could contribute to the war effort.

Although some were accomplished knitters, not everyone was and standards for the finished products were strict. During World War I, the Red Cross produced an official sock measure. It stated that ‘to be of use to soldiers, socks must be free from knots and lumps’. Socks should also be ‘cast on loosely’, with a top that stretched ‘at least 15 inches.’

Nowadays, I’m not sure our defence forces in their high-tech, flame retardant uniforms have much need for handknitted items, however the concept of knitting to assist others who are facing personal battles is alive and well.

There are a number of organizations and websites that coordinate handknitted donations for charities. These items are given to individuals such as orphans, the homeless, cancer sufferers, or premature babies. Some charities distribute the knits overseas, others locally.

Knitting for the troops during the War allowed those at home to feel like they were contributing to the war effort in a practical and tangible way, and the items themselves were seen to deliver a message to their recipients of the support of the people at home.

Likewise, knitting for charities allows those who feel they want to make a contribution to do their bit.

A friend of mine is a tireless volunteer for wildlife rescue in Victoria. At all hours, day or night, she answers the call to go pick up injured or orphaned wildlife. Often they are baby possums abandoned by a sick or distressed mother or orphaned in the mother's pouch when she has been killed by a car or another animal, or birds that have been injured.

Talking to her about her work, I discovered that the animals are put into knitted bags of various sizes to keep them warm and safe. These bags need to be washed everyday, so rescuers go though a lot of them, and can't get enough to keep up with demand. They're not just used for possums and birds either - snakes, bats, lorrikeets, wombats and baby kangaroos are just some of the animals that have found themselves inside a handknitted bag.

I offered to knit some bags for her, then quickly evaluated my knitting-speed history and enlisted the help of my Mum and Megan who are knitting speed-demons.

I’m usually more of a quick-knit chunky yarn knitter, and I thought that to tackle something on smaller needles, with a finer yarn would have been too much of a challenge to my patience. So I started with thick wool and big (8mm) needles.

I chose to knit tiny bags for individual baby possums or little birds. They were relatively quick to knit and easy for a knitting-novice. As a bonus, I gained a real sense of satisfaction in knitting something I knew was going to be appreciated by someone else.

And I found that I really enjoyed the therapeutic aspect of the knitting itself. The repetitive nature of knitting creates a tranquil almost meditative state, and I imagined that the World War II knitters would have found knitting to be a relaxing escape in what was a time of great stress.

The end result would definitely not have met the Red Cross’s strict sock measure standards though.

And, in less than the time it took me to knit one baby possum bag, my mother produced all of these.

Here at Before Our Time, we’re taking the charge as wildlife footsoldiers (knitwear division). If you would like to help, the pouches need to be bags (with or without a drawstring top) of varying sizes from around 15cms w x 20cms h (for a single baby possum) up to 40cm x 40cms (for a joey or a baby wombat).

They can be knitted in any yarn, but preferably one which will wash well. And colour doesn't matter.

When you have completed one (or some!), you can email me for delivery details.

Just like those left at the home front during the Wars, it takes all types of knitters to fight the battles on behalf of others in need. The fast ones, the slow ones, the ones who have to repeatedly unravel.

What kind of knit-soldier are you?