Facts about Knitting as Code and More

June 3, 2016 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I’ve been seeing this old post from the Telegraph in my news feed over the past couple of days, and it is really interesting if you like knitting history.

We probably all know about Madame Defarge, the fictional knitter who stitched the names of victims at the guillotine during the French Revolution. While there’s no evidence such knitters actually existed, it’s a powerful symbol of the power of knitting.

There’s a lot of talk these days about knitting and other fiber arts being like computer code but, as this article points out, there was at least one time knitting actually was used to transmit secret messages. In World War II Belgium, knitters were stationed in apartments that overlooked the railyards and stitched a record of the kinds of trains that passed. (I looked for more about this online but couldn’t find anything, but I assume this is true.)

It’s also true that in the UK it was illegal to ship knitting patterns abroad during the war because it was feared they might contain hidden codes.

The article also looks at yarnbombing, extreme knitting (though the record for running a marathon while knitting is now held by David Babcock) and shares a bit more knitting history and lore. It’s a fun read.

Did you know there are actually knit islands? (Probably more woven than knit actually, but certainly a fun fact to share with anyone who thinks knitting isn’t useful!)

[Photo of Rosalie Crutchley as Madame Defarge from the Robert Grant archive, via the Telegraph.]

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Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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