Beyond Knitting
Women Who Smuggled Secrets
Knitting is a language of loops and stitches, capable of conveying both artistic expression and covert information.
Knit and purl stitches form a binary system, much like the ones and zeros of computer code. Early computers even used knitting machine punch cards as a form of programming, highlighting the long-standing link between textiles and technology.
Much like programming, knitting patterns translate into outputs. Depending on the distribution of stitches, a message emerges. Maybe that message is a new sweater. But maybe, just maybe, it’s enemy train times or smuggled state secrets. If a sweater can be made from a set of coded instructions, who’s to say it couldn’t also carry a hidden message?
Phyllis Latour
Knitting has long been a medium for storytelling and self-expression, but in times of war, it transformed into a tool for espionage.
One remarkable figure is Phyllis Latour, a young woman who served as a wireless operator for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Nazi-occupied France.
Under the codename “Genevieve,” Latour disguised herself as a teenage girl selling soap, allowing her to move through enemy territory without arousing suspicion. But her knitting was more than a pastime—it was a method of encoding intelligence.
Silk head scarves were common, as women were required to wear them to protect their hair in their newly-acquired industrial jobs.
Latour concealed her one-time codes on a piece of silk, cleverly wrapped around a knitting needle and disguised as a hair tie. The cypher was wrapped tightly and then used to tie her hair back in a simple ponytail—or the silk to be styled in whatever way would’ve been most inconspicuous in the area.
This technique enabled her to transmit 135 coded messages, providing critical information that guided Allied bombing missions. Despite searches by German soldiers, her knitting accessories were never suspected as tools of espionage
Beyond the frontlines, thousands of women played pivotal roles in intelligence work. Their ability to recognize logical patterns—something deeply ingrained in knitting—proved essential to their success.
At Bletchley Park, the heart of British code breaking efforts, women made up nearly 75% of the workforce, operating complex machinery like the Bombe and Colossus computers to decipher German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers.
Joan Clarke was a pioneering British cryptanalyst known for her vital work in cracking the Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II. A talented mathematician, she was part of Alan Turing’s team and contributed to shortening the war. Despite challenges due to her gender, Clarke went on to a successful career in cryptography and received an MBE.
Beyond her professional life, she enjoyed hobbies including chess and knitting, which played a significant role in maintaining her sharp, logical thinking. These pastimes were more than leisure—they were essential in supporting her brilliant mind during one of history’s most critical moments.
Speaking of Clarke, Kiera Knightly played her in The Imitation Game and Ann was taken with her sweater.
The concept of encoding messages in knitting extends beyond individual stories. Throughout history, women have used textiles to convey hidden meanings, from smuggling intelligence in war to embedding political messages in patterns.
During wartime, a scarf or a pair of socks might contain subtle Morse code signals, transforming an everyday object into a covert communiqué. This method worked because it exploited societal expectations—who would suspect a woman knitting by the fire of engaging in espionage?
In many ways, modern knitting still echoes its secretive past. Today’s knitters might not be encoding enemy movements, but they are using patterns and algorithms to create intricate designs—sometimes even political statements.
PEACE DE RESISTANCE MITTENS DESIGNED BY BRISTOL IVY
Computational knitting has emerged as a fascinating intersection of craft and code, with software that converts images into stitchable patterns, much like pixel art. Mathematicians use knitting to visualize complex equations, and some coders see knitting as a tangible expression of programming logic: follow the sequence, get a result.
More than just craft, knitting remains a quiet act of defiance and storytelling. Whether it’s the women of the past smuggling secrets or today’s makers weaving activism into their stitches, knitting is far more than it appears. It’s a code, a language, and a form of resistance—all hidden in plain sight.
Because sometimes, the most powerful messages aren’t written in ink or typed in code, but slipped between the knits and purls.
Great read! Thank you for bringing enlightenment to past “fibre coding” to present “story telling” within the realm of knitting! As the creator of “War Time Knitting: Remembrance and Recognition” exhibit, I am always thrilled to read of others interest in espionage knitting!
This is another great MDK article!
Please show more of Kiera Knightly’sweater in the film!
Wonderful read. Fascinating Thank you.
Oh my. Message Mittens. ❤️
I may have to clear out an entire drawer. Move over socks.
Interesting read. Also makes me think Knitting and Chess should be required subjects in elementary school.
Thank you, particularly about the mittens. Aran jumpers were knitted by fishermens’s wives in particular patterns so that if a man drowned he could be identified by his jumper
What a great story. Thank you. Now I’d like to see if there are books about this, seem to remember there are. And I agree about the sweater, partly. Tbe colors are definitely dowdy, but the pattern might be modernized with something else more lively. Hmmmmm…
And in the photo with Keira & Benedict, do I see the two of the Crawley sisters’ husbands from The Abbey??
Also ….the young detective/companion from PBS Magpie Murders is in this photo!
Yes, LIBAZETHR. I noticed the husbands, too! And, what a great movie!
Espionage knitting! What a great Ph.D thesis. And what a brave young woman Phyllis Latour was! And ingenious to boot! I am sure her story
isn’t the only one. – Surprisingly Audrey Hepburn’s mother was a member of the Dutch Resistance, for example. And “Hidden Figures”, of course. Thanks so much for this whole article. Women’s contribution will never fully be told. (Love that movie knitwear, too. I think there was some in “The Boys in the Boat” among many other recent films.) Chloe
Computational knitting now has my full attention.
In the wild way that synchronicity works, I’ve been teaching myself how to code (Python/HTML/CSS) and I’ve wondered why it felt so… familiar. This makes so much sense and I’m fascinated to learn more of the history.
Great article! An absolute treat to read.
I’ve revived The Resistor Headband found on Ravelry – Designed for the first March for Science 2017. I’m making lots for friends – to wear as hatbands or headbands. It’s like a secret message.
Thanks for a great historical story.
Thanks for a great article. After 30 years working with computers, mostly programming in mainframe assembler code, I understand why knitting has become such a comfort and obsession for me in my ‘retirement’!
Perhaps you meant ‘piece de resistance’ instead of ‘peace to resistance’?
Click the link and you’ll see it’s the name of the pattern!
Thank you MDK and the author Ashleigh for such a priceless and thought provoking item.
It was Marshall McLuhan (a Canadian, BTW) who said that “the medium is the message” – now and unexpectedly we are given “knitted version” of it.
The second aspect of this article – a place and importance of women in the war effort and in resistance to oppression and by the same token another message of this article that “the resistance is not futile”!
How important it is these days when the spirit of equality is being assaulted!
Let’s keep this in mind – the object is more than what you see…
Beautifully written and accomplished. Wonderful to be wrangling yarn with you.
Ashleigh-ellan, this was fascinating and timely – thanks! If you haven’t come across the book “A Woman of No Importance” you may want to check it out. Virginia Hall was an American espionage agent working undercover in France during WWII to assist the local resistance fighters, and Genevieve is mentioned in that story!
How interesting ! My ex husband, a physician w/o any common sense thought my knitting patterns were too complicated to understand and it is a different language and one that I easily learned to use. Thanks for the article
Annie….I am a physician with common sense and have often said I love knitting so much because it’s so mathematical:)
(And also brings out my creative side.)
This is great information. You made my day start off with a smile.
I just loved this article. I have heard of this before, but not in this depth. Hooray for women. We always save the day. These knitters are remarkable. Thank you.
Stumbled upon this in some way I completely forget, but so happy I did. What a wonderful article.
Very interesting. But is trawan really like to see an example.
It’s such fun to read about this additional tidbit about Bletchley Park. For those looking for a good read about Bletchley Park, I recommend The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. No knitting, but it’s fun to imagine how it could be there.
Knitter here: I haven’t yet read a comment about the knitter in “Tale of Two Cities.” Madame Defarge was surreptitiously knitting enemy names. This book was the most common way people would first learn about spy knitting as the book was often required reading in public school.
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/a-tale-of-two-cities/characters/madame-defarge
Speaking of codes, I’ve been enjoying the t-shirts with Foxtrot Delta Tango, illustrations of Foxglove Daffodil Tulip, and so on. Confused? FDT.
Resistance is NOT futile! Unless you’re resisting a Sophie scarf. Then it is. It is.
Absolutely fascinating information!!!! Thank you SO much for this in depth history dive. Kint on!!
Thanks for the story! I also shared it with my husband!
Another good read is “The girls that stepped out of line”….highlights several women of WW 2 and the impact they made.
I am not very good with technology… mobile messaging in emoji is not my thing but give me a knitting pattern I’m your friend. Some time ago my daughter teased me about my mobile messages so I put her straight about ladies knitting during the war and knitting patterns were band. I said that I have been reading code for many years her face was a picture. She loves history and I have heard her tell her friends that I knit and how proud of me that I can read code
Sounds very interesting. Where is the coffee meeting ?
This sort of subtle history fascinates me. Immediately going to watch this movie and save this mitten pattern. Thank you for sharing!
Such an interesting story. Enjoyed it, Thank you for sharing your knowledge
Wow had never heard that. I know during the time of slaves they used quilts to tell where it was safe to rest and maps disguised in the work. Women are so very clever these are things that should be taught in school too.
Thank you a very informative text.
Your article reminds me of the Kipus, the knotted ropes the Incas used to relay messages in the absence of a written language!
During WWI in Belguim, a resistance group known as La Dame Blanche also used knitting as code — little old ladies would sit all day at the train station “waiting for a train”and knit. What they were doing, of course was coding troop movements.
Love your article. Despite my research on the Women of SOE, I had not heard that Phyllis Latour used knitting in this way. Thank you.
Fascinating part of history that I didn’t know until now! Thank you for sharing this information in such an engaging way!
The story of Pippa Latour is inspirational and told in the book written by her and Jude Dobson entitled “The Last Secret Agent, The untold story of my life as a spy behind Nazi enemy lines”. Until she died at the wonderful age of 102, Pippa lived in New Zealand.
Long Live Our Resistance!