I thought this was pretty interesting. Early computer code was essentially knitted! (Or woven…or beaded…it’s not totally clear.)
Too cool! Thanks for the share. I passed the link on to friends. Textile people are damn smart, yeah?
Knitters and weavers were programmers before computers were a twinkle in someone’s eye.
That was really interesting. When I was in my teens my dad went to university to get his engineering degree. Sometimes on the weekends he took me to the computer lab and I typed his punch cards. One mistake and the card had to be tossed in the garbage. There were dozens of cards for a few lines of code so I ‘saved’ a lot of punch cards. This link reminded me of those Saturday mornings we spent together. ![]()
What a great read! Thank you! Computer code (the software) all comes down to binary code of ones and zeros, which relates to knitting because it’s essentially knits and purls, binary as well. If I’m not mistaken, those ones and zeros basically translate physically into current running or stopping? Before electronics got so popularized and complex, a lot of things could be done to achieve the same results with electrical installations and current coming from a pilot wire, often with a “command” as simple as open or closed circuit (weather or not current is running). The woven and beaded things are the physical hardware, what the current runs through.
Also, I feel like I’ve seen so many stories of Doom running on all kinds of things by now I wouldn’t even be surprised to hear someone managed to knit a version of it that could run on a scarf ![]()
I’d forgotten all about that post! Thanks for unearthing it!