What is marl?
Marl is where the colors in the tartan overlap. This is where the threads are woven through each other. When knitting the socks we try to mimic what you can see in the tartan. Making marl involves mixing the main color and the background color (white for a dress tartan).
Double marl!
The tartan hose can also be knit using a double marl. This means alternating the background color with the primary and secondary colors. This looks quite nice with most of the McKellar tartans which have a fairly wide strip of black.
FYI ... When purchasing tartan hose there is usually an extra charge for double marl. If you try this at home you will find out why! There is a little extra work involved at the end when weaving in ends when you use two marls.
Matching Marl in Tartan and Hose
How to Create Marl
If you purchased a kit, it probably came with the marl yarn all ready to go. If you purchased yarn separately you will need to create a marl from the main and background colors. Note that you'll also have to double up the main color and the white color. The technique is the same. The video on this page shows how to create the marl. The same technique is used for doubling up the solid colors.
Excellent!!! And nice to see you!
This was my first instructional video. My daughter watches a lot of these type of videos so she helped me by filming and directing. Thanks for watching!