Ridiculous History Knitting as Espionage, Part Two: Legendary Spies -- and One Traitor
Mar 19, 2026
They explore spies who turned knitting into secret communication. Stories include hidden messages in yarn, Morse code concealed in a hair tie, and a notorious double agent whose testimony reshaped Cold War fears. They also cover wartime mail controls, ancient knotted recordkeeping, and quirky modern analogues like covert use of fan sites.
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Molly Rinker Smuggled Intelligence In Yarn
- Molly Rinker hid written military intelligence inside balls of yarn and casually tossed them to passing Patriot couriers in Revolutionary-era Philadelphia.
- She used her role at a tavern and being dismissed as a woman to eavesdrop and smuggle notes concealed in yarn during the 1777–1778 campaign.
Pippa Latour Hid Codes In Her Hair Tie
- Phyllis Pippa Latour Doyle parachuted into Nazi-occupied Normandy and transmitted 135 Morse-coded messages for the SOE using a wireless radio and concealed codes in a hair tie.
- She wrapped silk with codes around a knitting needle, hid it in a flat shoelace hair tie, and relied on gendered dismissal to avoid detection.
Elizabeth Bentley Turned Double Agent And Testified
- Elizabeth Bentley spied for the Soviets as a contact woman, hid classified items in her knitting bag, then defected and became a double agent who testified against others.
- Her FBI cooperation helped convict some Communist leaders but also fueled the Red Scare and ruined many careers during McCarthy-era investigations.