Hand knitted Stars and Stripes jumper

This hand knitted wool jumper was designed in the style and colour of the American Stars and Stripes flag. It was made with short sleeves and a collarless neckline by the Australian Audrey Capuano (nee Westley), an American war bride who sailed from Sydney to San Francisco in 1946. During the long wait to gain her passage to the USA, Audrey knitted this jumper and wore it for her arrival in San Francisco. She was greeted with a hero’s welcome and even featured in a newspaper article, being hailed as 'Betsy Ross the Second' for her Stars and Stripes jumper.

Audrey recalls, "The jumper has only 18 instead of 48 stars - quite enough as it took me two days to put them on."