This is a history of knitting with its main focus on a chronological picture of antipodean knitting and is also a history of the domestic lives of women, of their resourcefulness, their talent and sociability. The author follows the growth of pattern books, the role of knitting for troops in the two world wars, knitting in the Depression and the recent interest in art knitting. She also explores the different items produced by the skilled knitter, from jerseys and guernseys, to counterpanes, socks and stockings and a scarf that stretched right round Parliament Building. It also includes material on spinning and on local woolen mills.