A Stitch Signature

[AidanM]

I was reading some links today and discovered that some knitters work the last row or two of their work in a special combination of knit/purl stitches as their "knitting signature" This is sometimes done by taking one's name and converting it to binary (1's and 0's, the language of computers) and then substituting knit/purl for 1/0.

 

Well, the idea intrigued me so much that I began wondering if there were a way to do this in crochet. Are there any stitches that are similar enough to go relatively unnoticed when mixed together? I think a reverse sc and sc combo might work, but we'll see.

 

Another idea is to convert the 1/0 to block/space for Filet crochet!

 

I think it would be fun to have these sorts of designs worked into patterns so that it just has one more dimension of meaning. I can imagine working "I Love You" into gifts for spouses and children or "To Thine Own Self Be True" to remind you to always be confident in who you are when you wear a particular garment.

 

The possibilities are endless!

 

I also found a webpage that converts text to binary. http://www.theskull.com/javascript/ascii-binary.html

Which GREATLY increases the ease of the whole process.

 

Do ya'll have any other ideas? I'm so eager to explore this!

[marymac]

Hmmmm. I went and looked at my name in Binary. Its kinda odd looking and long, but could be done as sc for the "0" and maybe a long sc for the "1". But, I'm not sure...mines' so long it wouldn't work on smaller projects.

[lilhatshack]

Wow - that is so intriguing.....I don't understand how you would do it - but i'd love to figure it out...

[aliciasjoy]

Wow, my name has six letters in it, and it ended up being 48 numbers. Maybe for crocheters you could do something like xoxo (hugs and kisses), a crossed dc with a popcorn or something?

Really, you wouldn't have to do binary at all, just make up any stitch signature you wanted and assign it any meaning you wanted. The people you wanted to know would know, y'know?

I think I read somewhere that knitters have been doing that to promote awareness about sweatshop labor. But I can't remember where, and I can't find it via google either. So I may be thinking of something else entirely?

[dhaunae]

Aidan, how utterly COOL! Thank you so much for posting this ... my fiance is a computer geek and I'm working on an afghan for him for Christmas, so a binary message is DEFINITELY getting worked into the edging now! Figuring out a good stitch combo to work it in will be interesting; I'm going to play with that some this morning, keep us posted on how you do with it too!

[manda]

That is such a cool idea!!

What about while working on the last row (or wherever), working in front or back loop, alternating for 0's and 1's. Say, 1 is back loop and 0 is front loop...does that make sense? I am picturing it in my head as seeing a rib effect in one stitch for the 1's and no rib for 0's. To someone who doesn't crochet they probably would never notice unless you pointed it out. I really like the idea of putting a secret message in it for someone special, its a cute idea that only you and that person would share...and give them a special activity of figuring out what it says too!

[lene]

Oh, this is wonderful! And my two guys are complete computer geeks, so I have to use this... Thanks so much for the idea, and the link to the converter.

 

I can use this in an afghan I'm making my son, and since making the stitches look similar enough to "hide" the message isn't an issue in that case, I think I'll do a popcorn stitch for the 0's, and a front post double crochet for the 1's.

 

Too cool! Thanks again,

 

Lene'

[AidanM]

That is such a cool idea!!

What about while working on the last row (or wherever), working in front or back loop, alternating for 0's and 1's. Say, 1 is back loop and 0 is front loop...does that make sense? I am picturing it in my head as seeing a rib effect in one stitch for the 1's and no rib for 0's. To someone who doesn't crochet they probably would never notice unless you pointed it out. I really like the idea of putting a secret message in it for someone special, its a cute idea that only you and that person would share...and give them a special activity of figuring out what it says too!

 

That would be an excellent way of doing it subtley! I love it!

[fruggs]

you could also do morse code. use one type of stitch for dashes and one for dots. i've done bead bracelets like that. you could even do 2 colors and crochet a whole verse or message for the whole body of your piece

[Dejhia]

Thanks so much for posting that link. My husband is a computer programer... And he would get such a kick out of me putting in a message in the sweater I'm making him.

 

I liked the idea of front loop and back loop stiches for 0 and 1s...

[RebeccaVelasquez]

aidan! i love having you here!! what a fabulous idea!!:clap:clap

[Shellbaby]

What a great idea!!!

[Meant2BMommy]

That is such a cool idea! DH is such a techie, I could probably do that and he'd read the friggen thing... I like the idea of 0/1 being block/open like filet crochet.