Yarn Bitch Reviews: Lion Brand Truboo
I’m back and ready to snark about my least favorite yarn… ever. Lion Brand’s Truboo. Obviously, we’re not even trying to bury the lead, and this isn’t the most unbiased review. But, it is very honest. Let’s jump in!
Overview
Truboo is a DK-weight, plant-based yarn. It’s beautifully soft and smooth in the skein with a slight shine and creates a beautifully drapey fabric. Lion Brand recommends using it for lightweight breezy summer crochet or knit projects. But before we get into my opinion, let’s get into the details!
COMPOSITION/CONSTRUCTION
Truboo is 100% rayon from bamboo. The yarn is made of several small strands with a medium twist. Now, when you first pick up a skein of this yarn it feels like you’ve just discovered a hidden treasure. Smooth, soft, sleek, shiny. In reality, you’ve opened a bit of a Pandora’s box. Let’s go over the red flags in the first two sentences of this paragraph.
100% Rayon from bamboo - Why is this a red flag? Rayon, Tencel (a brand name), viscose, Lycocell, and Modal all refer to a manufactured fiber, created from natural cellulose materials such as bamboo or wood pulp. This fiber has great properties we’ve mentioned earlier, but is notorious for growing… seemingly in a Willy Wonka “everlasting” way. If your goal is to create a garment that keeps its shape, it probably won’t :(
Several small strands with a medium twist - Splitting is inevitable, and one of the most common complaints you'll hear about this yarn. The plys that make up this yarn are fine and, for lack of a better word, slippery. The medium twist exacerbates the splitting issue. People who experience less of this typically use sharp, pointed needles, but I haven’t heard any tips for avoiding splitting for crochet.
One positive is that this yarn tends to age well! I’ve seen minimal pilling in the items I’ve made and washed. The color stays vivid, and dye bleeding is minimal to none.
YARDAGE/COLOR PALETTE/PRICE
Yardage-wise, this yarn comes in at 241 yards (220 meters) for a 100g skein. Placing it at an aran weight yardage and highlighting how heavy garments made from this yarn can become.
Truboo’s color palette is a great example of a diverse palette in plant-based yarns. It covers everything from soft coastal blues to rich browns and everything in between. Yarns like this make me never want to hear the “it’s hard to dye plant fibers” excuse for commercially produced yarns! You can find their full color selection here.
Even at a low yardage for DK-weight yarn, it’s hard to beat the $6/skein price point. You could easily make a beautiful shawl for under $20! Because Lion Brand is a US-based company (as far as I’ve been able to see), it will be interesting to see the impact of tariffs, especially if not milled in the US. With Joann out of the picture (RIP), Michael’s sales have gotten less competitive, but keep an eye out for their weekly ads or “order online” discounts for an even better deal!
DUPES/ALTERNATIVES
Typically, this is where I would tell you where you can find similar yarns at better prices/are more easily accessible, depending on your area. In this case, I think it would be better for me to tell you my favorite alternatives that will give you the benefits of this yarn while minimizing the drawbacks.
Berroco Modern Cotton (DK and Worsted) is one of my favorite summer yarns; I go back to it every year! This yarn is offered in DK and worsted weights, though it works up as more of a sport and heavy DK weight, respectively. This yarn uses pima cotton, which has a long staple length and is one of the softest cottons available. It also has a high enough rayon composition that it maintains the shininess and adds to the softness of the fabric. The color selection is fantastic, with a similar range to truboo. I noticed that the DK version seems to have a more diverse color palette, and the overall tones tend to lean more soft and dusty. My biggest drawback is that it can be splitty depending on the needles I’m using. But regardless, it’s much less splitty than truboo. The original white Claudia Top is made with modern cotton DK and has held up beautifully! I’ve also made the Bitchin’ Skirt in the worsted weight version and love wearing it any chance I get. Both are available as free tutorials and are linked :).
Cascade Pandamonium is a DK-weight yarn with similar composition to modern cotton but using standard cotton instead of pima, giving it a slightly more affordable pricepoint. With a wide color selection and a tight twist, this might be the all around contendor for price, color, and quality! I haven’t had the chance to work with this yarn myself but it has a 4.5 star rating on ravelry, and if there’s one source I trust, it’s ravelry crafters.
My Projects
CLAUDIA TOP (X2)
This is one of the first projects I ever made with Truboo. At first, my overall impressions were positive! I loved the softness, drape, and shine. But the top started to slowly grow over time, until it got to the point where I no longer felt comfortable wearing it. I could feel it growing throughout the day! After a quick wash, I was able to reshape the top, only for it to grow all over again. There are several factors that likely contribute to this. This top weighs almost 200g, which is quite heavy for a tank top. This much weight on a simple top, combined with minimal structural seams and the fiber composition, only exacerbates the issue.
I’ve made this same top with Berocco’s Modern Cotton DK and had NONE of these issues. It keeps a comparable drape/shine/softness, while also keeping its shape. This version of the top weighs about 140g and, in my opinion, creates a more “summer-friendly” fabric.
I had the pleasure of testing this top for one of my favorite crochet designers, Mermaidsyarns. I love how sexy the design is AND how many crochet techniques I learned along the way. Another thing I learned along the way? I’m done with using this yarn. I thought the soft and stretchy nature of this yarn would be ideal for a mesh design like this, but boy was I wrong. Two hours into wearing the top for the first time, I realized I was about 1 centimeter away from flashing all of Los Angeles. That’s right, the top section of my top had stretched over an inch in 2 hours. One of those hours, I did nothing but sit in the car!
My Opinions
WHAT I LOVE
Unfortunately, this is going to be a short section that can be summarized in a few bullet points
Color selection - varied, covers everything from neutrals to brights and dusty/calm colors
The shine and drape of this fabric are beautiful! If used in the right context.
Price point is right where it should be for a yarn from a national “big box” brand
Easy to purchase in the US (available at large retailers like Michaels, Walmart, etc)
WHAT I DON’T LOVE
To me, the biggest drawback is just how much this yarn loses its shape. I think it’s completely pointless to make any item that needs to maintain its shape to be usable (aka, any kind of garment). Aside from this, the crafting experience can be dampened by how much this yarn loves to split. If you insist on using this yarn for garments, I highly recommend holding it with something that has more structure.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Would you recommend this yarn?
Short answer - no. Longer answer, I think this yarn could be a good option for accessories like shawls or home goods like blankets. But I would recommend any of the alternatives listed above over Truboo.
Would you work with this yarn again?
NO! And I constantly recommend AGAINST using it.
