Knitting pattern book, 'Her Excellency's Knitting Book'

'Her Excellency's Knitting Book' appeared in August 1915. This 193-page book, produced by the Governor General's wife, Lady Liverpool, was New Zealand's first locally published knitting book. It contained patterns for socks, balaclavas and gloves and was designed to fit snugly into a woman's knitting bag. Knitting - particularly of socks - was one of the most important ways home front women of the Allied countries could actively contribute to the war effort.

Socks for soldiers

Following soldiers' reports that a pair of socks only lasted a fortnight on active duty, 'Sock Days' were held across the country in May 1915. These community events were an effort to raise funds and produce socks for New Zealand soldiers at training camps and serving overseas. It was a popular movement, with Lady Liverpool as one of the leading national figureheads of women's voluntary war work. There was even a rousing song, Canadian in origin, but popular in New Zealand:

Knitting, knitting, knitting, with a pray’r in every row,

That the ones they hold in their hearts so dear

May be guarded as they go.

Learning to knit

New Zealand women had long knitted, but with the availability of factory-made knits at the turn of the century, some women did not actually know how to knit at the outbreak of the First World War. Books such as this one helped those women who were keen and patriotic in their desire to contribute their time and skills to the war effort.