If you are a returning
knitter, please let us know when you mail your scarf. As lovely as our
certificates are, we don't want to send you a repeat.
When we launched Knit Your Bit
nearly a year ago, we had no idea the response we we would receive from
dedicated knitters around the country. And responded you have! As we roll into
fall and the second year of this program, the Museum has received almost 1,600 scarves
from amazing knitters nationwide.
We are busily preparing another pattern, however
we will accept any appropriate scarf. VA Centers have expressed their
appreciation and are waiting for you to make a difference in veterans' lives
this winter.
All of your scarves have made
it to veterans throughout the country. The Campaign has generated positive
feedback, good will and warm necks. Check back regularly for updates to see our progress.
The
National WWII Museum is proud to launch its own Knit Your Bit campaign.
You can help the Museum honor WWII veterans by Knitting Your Bit- in this case a
simple, but cozy, scarf to be donated to a veteran in a Veterans Center
somewhere in the United States.
Please include your
mailing address, so we can recognize your generosity by sending you a
certificate of participation and let the veterans know where the scarf has come
from.
Make a difference and help spread the word
Please click here to download our
flyer. Feel free to print out this pdf and distribute to all interested parties.
Due to a great response, we have crafted a pattern
so our crocheters won't be left out. Please
click here to download the
pattern.
Knitting during World War II
On
the Home Front during World War II, knitting served as one more way Americans
could support the war effort. The November 24,
1941 cover story of the popular weekly magazine Life explained “How To Knit.”
Along with basic instructions and a pattern for a simple knitted vest, the
article advised, “To the great American question ‘What can I do to help the war
effort?’ the commonest answer yet found is ‘Knit.’”
Thousands of Americans picked up their needles to knit socks, mufflers, and
sweaters to keep American soldiers warm and provide them with a home-made
reminder of home.
Many of those knitting items for soldiers during World War II had Knit for
Victory as children or young adults during World War I. Knitting provided warmth and comfort for the
soldier and therapeutic distraction and a sense of civic participation for the knitters. First Lady Eleanor
Roosevelt was often photographed knitting for the war effort or at least
carrying her voluminous knitting bag. In the evening listening to war news on
the radio, idle hands were turned to service as Americans once again knit for
victory.
The Red Cross supplied patterns for sweaters, socks, mufflers, fingerless mitts
(which allowed soldiers to keep their hands warm while shooting), toe covers
(for use with a cast), stump covers, and other garments. Cold, wet, sore feet
were the enemy as surely as German or Japanese troops. Socks wore out much
faster than sweaters, and needed changing many times more frequently. These were
to be knitted in olive drab or navy blue wool yarn. Surviving patterns show that
these knitting patterns were typed and retyped with carbon-paper copies and
shared among the knitters. Many knitters chose to knit the same item in the same
size again and again so that they could memorize the pattern and produce pieces
more quickly.
“The Navy needs men, but it also needs knitters” newspapers cried. Church basements,
school lunchrooms, and members-only societies all had knitters busily clicking
their needles. Their handiwork was destined to warm and protect, and
fated to suffer with the soldiers. After the war, some knitters dropped their
needles for good. Others kept on knitting throughout their lives in a wide
variety of colors – any color, many swore but Army-issued khaki or olive drab!
945 Magazine Street New Orleans, LA 70130, Entrance
on Andrew Higgins Drive
PHONE: (504) 527-6012 · FAX: (504) 527-6088 · EMAIL: info@nationalww2museum.org
On
the Home Front during World War II, knitting served as one more way Americans
could support the war effort. The November 24,
1941 cover story of the popular weekly magazine Life explained “How To Knit.”
Along with basic instructions and a pattern for a simple knitted vest, the
article advised, “To the great American question ‘What can I do to help the war
effort?’ the commonest answer yet found is ‘Knit.’”
Thousands of Americans picked up their needles to knit socks, mufflers, and
sweaters to keep American soldiers warm and provide them with a home-made
reminder of home.