My Mouline

I seem to go through phases in my knitting and my latest phase is a bit of a preoccupation with marled yarn. A mouline, or marled yarn is composed of two or more different colored strands plied together. These yarns have a variegated appearance which is subtle enough to allow stitch patterns to show up clearly.

You can see what I mean in the cable and lace swatch below. This stockinette reminds me of a faded old pair of jeans.SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

This is Drops Fabel sock yarn. It’s a 4 ply, (4 strands of yarn plied together) with 2 blue strands and 2 gray, which you can clearly see in the photo to the left.

 

The marled effect can also be created by holding two or more strands of different colored yarn together. I have a stash full of lightweight yarns, and although I love a fine gauge sweater, lately I’ve been craving something fast. The swatch below was made with a fingering and sport weight yarn held together. SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESNot only is this a good way to use up an excessive stash, it’s also a way to combine the properties of two different yarns into something entirely new. The fingering weight yarn in the swatch above is Knit Picks Palette, a basic Peruvian wool which I chose for its strength and memory. The sport weight is Classic Elite Mountain Top Vail, an alpaca and bamboo blend which is deliciously soft with a slight sheen and a lot of drape. Together, they create a yarn that can make a stretchy ribbing (memory) and be comfortable against the skin. The plies add up pretty fast too, the two yarns held together are equal to about an aran weight at 4 stitches per inch. I can imagine knitting a cardigan out of this in a week! 

Although I haven’t quite made up my mind what my next project will be, I’m fairly certain it will be marled.

Happy knitting!