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After creating multiple designs with it I am ready to give a truboo yarn review. I recall not having been as excited to get my hands on some yarn possibly in my entire crochet career as I was for this yarn. Lion brand’s truboo 100% bamboo yarn (in my mind) promised the coolness of cotton with the elegant sheen of bamboo previously not experienced.
Does it split?
Does it stay shiny?
Does it droop?
Let’s talk about it.
Working with Truboo yarn and truboo yarn patterns
I have made a few items with this yarn and it is really lovely against the skin. Not every stitch works well with this yarn because, to be fair and honest, it will droop.
Picking the right stitches, the kind I call reinforced where yarn wraps (like waistcoat stitch), linked crochet stitches, or a stitch with no space like a single crochet you won’t have any issues.
I use a technique called linked stitches in this towel design that works well with truboo yarn because the stitches support each of the stitches before them to only create a lovely texture but also prevents or minimizes drooping in the finished product.
When looking at truboo yarn patterns consider the pros and cons of the yarn for a good result. This mesh top I designed with truboo yarn does give an open weave look but the yarn is secure because of the stitch pattern repeat. It’s another type of stitch that prevents droop. It has a lovely drape, feels luxe against the skin and holds its shape.
Using the best stitches for the best result
The stitches you use with this yarn and yarns in this category of “drapey” or droopy , its less kind cousin will essentially make or break how you feel about this yarn and what projects you use it for. Learn from my experience! I use the analogy of if this yarn was a box of your favorite cereal and you added turkey gravy to it, not so good. But if you add milk to it, it is a superstar. It works like this for the yarn. The right stitches are cereal with milk, the wrong stitches are cereal with gravy.
If you like cereal with gravy, this analogy wont work for you I suppose!
I designed project trackers! This is the large print version for tired eyes. So much easier than using apps, scraps of paper or a plain notebook.
Three project sizes, a handy ruler and hook guide inside the cover and plenty of room for notes in each pattern.
Buy it here.
Regular size print here.
I have had bad eyesight since age 18 so large print is a godsend when you can’t see apps and dark yarn, let alone going from one to the other on a crochet-a-thon during a netflix binge.
Truboo yarn review
The yarn does have and elegant sheen that dulls only slightly after working with it. Think of like a used penny that still has a hint of luster from it’s original coppery shine.
Like many of the alternative natural fibers, truboo will have a tendency to split but otherwise it feels nice in the fingers to work with. Smooth and silky. The hook you use matters with “sensitive yarns” like this. I did a yarn hook review that can help you make sense out of them.
Avoid wood hooks and “cheap” metal hooks that can catch on fibers. Nickel hooks like those from furls are very slick and smooth or plastic hooks (like clover brand) are ideal for this yarn. I have a very good result when using etimo red crochet hooks with truboo. Minimal splitting. When you’re working a larger project it’s worth it to invest just a few dollars more into a high quality hook.
If you’re interested in other warm weather yarns including the newer natural yarn in the Lion Brand collection, nuboo lyocel yarn, read about them in the post. I have a video showing how nuboo yarn changes DRAMATICALLY after it has been blocked. Understanding how these cotton alternative fibers behave is key to having a good result in your knit and crochet projects.
