Knitting in Code with Kristen Howard
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Codebreakers have recently infiltrated the public imagination of wartime efforts - but what about code-makers? Historian and knitter Kristen Howard explores the role played by knitting in wartime codes and correspondence, from providing a “cover” for women spies in WWII to the use of knitting to disguise or a mplify messages. Case studies will include the French Revolution, American Revolutionary War, and the World Wars.
Kristen also presents a new knitting pattern incorporating both Morse Code and illusion knitting - another method of hiding secret messages in stitches - to demonstrate how knitting can be used today as a form of coded correspondence. The pattern relies on cleverly combining simple knit and purl stitches to incorporate your chosen message. Can you crack the code?
Recorded March 9th, 2022
4:11 - Opening Comments Nathalie Cooke Associate Dean, ROAAr McGill Library
8:20 - ROAAr collections Comments, Christopher Lyons, Head Librarian Rare Books and Special Collections
14:10 - Knitting in Code - Kristen Howard
34:00 - Secret Message Pillow Pattern Introduction
43:30 - Question and Answer - Kristen Howard and Jacquelyn Sundberg, ROAAr McGill Library
I once knit a scarf, hat, and mitten set for my niece in her college colors using hexadecimal code to spell out her University's 3 letter code - OSU - for Oklahoma State University.
That is an excellent idea!
Thanks for making this available
Our pleasure! It is always inspiring to hear from and share the work of creative researchers and scholars like Kristen. Each talk gives us a new perspective on our own collections.
Fascinating thanks so much.
Glad you enjoyed it