Truboo And Coboo: Yarn Review of Plant-based Fiber Goodness

Yarn Review and Comparison of the Truboo and Coboo Yarns

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Warm weather has always inspired me to try plant-based fibers because I am not one to stop knitting in the summer – – – and I don’t want my yarn to actually felt in the summer heat and humidity! And there are so many good plant-based fiber options right now. New cotton or cotton-blend yarns plus tencel, bamboo, linen (flax), and silk are all so widely available right now.

It used to feel like if you wanted a cotton yarn that wasn’t Lily Sugar’N Cream** or a plant-based fiber that wasn’t cotton, you had to shop online or find a big enough LYS that had space to carry a limited selection of linen or cotton. In the last couple of years, it seems there are so many yarns made of a much wider variety of fibers. **Note: I am not knocking Lily Sugar’N Cream yarn. That yarn is a workhorse. But having more options available is a good thing!

Which brings me to today’s post. Lion Brand has a couple of neat collections of plant-based fibers including the Oh Baby Organic Cotton, Just Hemp, and the ‘boo yarns (Coboo, Truboo, and Nuboo). Nuboo is a slightly heavier yarn rated as worsted weight, but Truboo and Coboo are both light weight, #3 yarns that seem to have a lot in common. If you’re curious about Nuboo, I talk about the knitting experience with that yarn in this blog post (link here).

I wanted to break down what’s similar and different about these two yarns yarns. And why you may want to pick Coboo or Truboo for your next project.

The Bottom Line

Truboo and Coboo are really similar at first glance, but Coboo is slightly heavier, slightly less shiny, and doesn’t have quite as much drape as the Truboo yarn. This is most likely due to the fiber content. Truboo is 100% rayon from bamboo and Coboo is a blend of 50% cotton and 50% rayon from bamboo.

Coboo is offered in fewer colors (13) that lend themselves to being a little brighter and little more primary color-ish. Truboo is offered in 21 colors that are more tonal. Truboo has more of a sheen to the yarn and knits a fabric with incredible drape.

Both yarns are also ready to use. I’ve knit from a couple of balls of each yarn and ran into very few knots or issues. This isn’t one of those yarns you buy and need to wind into a ball before using. I used the balls as center-pull balls and was able to knit to the end without the yarn turning into a mess, which is a huge win in the easy knitting experience category.

Both yarns knit into beautiful fabric but are prone to splittiness. These both have a lot of drape, but if you’re knitting something you want to hold it’s a shape a little bit more, I would recommend the Coboo. If you’re knitting a top that you want to have a lot of drape, I would recommend picking Truboo. I would recommend trying out these yarns if you’re looking to add a plant-based fiber to your yarn stash, especially if you’re interested in making baby or toddler lightweight warm weather hats, layering pieces like a tank or summer cardigan, or a wrap for summer events.

Yarn Specs and Gauge

Here are the specs for both yarns from the manufacturer:

I’d note the Coboo yarn is slightly heavier. It has slightly less yardage for a ball the same weight as the Truboo ball.

Gauge

Both yarns have a gauge on the ball band of 23 sts and 16 rounds over 4″ on US 6 (4 mm) knitting needles.

I knit a couple of hats (more details below!) and while I did get close to that stitch count, my row count was much higher. My gauge for knitting stockinette stitch in both yarns was 21 sts and 32 rows over 4″ on US 6 (4 mm) needles.

Knitting The Yarn

Both yarns are incredibly soft and the hats I knit with these yarns are really lovely to look at and touch. The main draw back is they are both loosely plied and prone to splitting when you’re working with the yarn.

When knit up, Truboo does have distinct soft sheen and the Coboo yarns did knit into a more matte fabric. This is most likely due to the cotton content of the Coboo yarn. That being said both yarns have more a sheen than you’d see in a 100% wool yarn or many acrylic yarns like Fisherman’s Wool or the Wool- Ease yarns. You can see in the picture below that the Coboo yarn (top) is not quite as shiney as the Truboo (bottom) yarn. Both yarns pictured are in the ‘silver’ colorway.

The Coboo and Truboo color lines are actually pretty different. Coboo comes in 13 colors that read a little more like primary colors. The 21 shades of Truboo are more tonal and run the gambit from earthy to jewel tones. Personal preference would dictate which line has the right colors for your project. I will note that I love the Truboo colors.

I would recommend using this yarn for knitting patterns that are relatively simple. I would not use these yarns for intricate lacework or cabling. I wouldn’t try to use this yarn for detailed stitching like a gansey-style pullover or a sweater with a fair isle yoke. Simpler colorwork and stitch patterns will make this yarn shine. The colors are gorgeous across both yarn lines and I’d let the yarn shine in your projects with stripes or ribbing.

A note on splittiness: I do have a post on working with splitty yarns and some tips. You can check that out by clicking here. I think splitty yarns can be worth a little extra effort for the right colors, fabrics, and projects.

On my needles…

I released the Dorrance Street Hat pattern last year and it’s knit in the Coboo yarn. I decided to knit a Dorrance Street hat in the steel blue and white Coboo an the slate and silver Truboo colors. I really enjoyed working with both of these yarns.

All in all I was surprised at how similarly the two hats came out. I used the same needles and pattern, and got a nearly identical gauge. The gauge on Coboo is very slightly larger (like a quarter of stitch more per 4″ square. The difference is imperceptible unless you measure with a stitch gauge.

The Truboo yarn is every so slightly thinner when knit and the Coboo yarn feels like it will retain it’s shape better. While the Coboo yarn would likely remain my main recommendation for this particular pattern, you could absolutely swap out the Coboo for Truboo and get a great result.

All in all, this was a really good knitting experience. I had a bunch of Coboo in my stash from last year and I did pick up a few other colors of Truboo and Truboo Sparkle to knit more projects. I could easily see knitting summer layers like loose cardigans or gifts for babies with these yarns.

If you’re a newsletter subscriber, the last newsletter included a coupon code for the Dorrance Street hat so make sure to grab the pattern while that coupon is active.

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If you knit a Dorrance Street hat or try out these yarns and want to share your projects, please share your pictures with me on Instagram. You can tag me (I’m @KnitMcKinley) or use the hasthag #KnitMcKinley. I really enjoy seeing your projects and hope you enjoy these patterns!

Happy Knitting,

~Kara