Caron One Pound vs Lion Brand Vanna's Choice

Technical verdict: Caron One Pound vs Lion Brand Vanna's Choice

Weight category, yardage and value per ball

Caron One Pound and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice are both Medium (CYC 4) yarns, so on paper they are interchangeable in the same patterns. The weight class only tells half the story, though: the ball band data below shows how much they really differ in thickness, yardage and behaviour once they are on the hook.

Caron One Pound is the longer yarn per gram, with 164 m per 100 g against 156 m per 100 g for Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, a difference of 5 %. For the same 1,000 m of yarn, the project weighs about 611 g in Caron One Pound and 641 g in Lion Brand Vanna's Choice. A lower m/100 g figure means a thicker or denser strand, so the heavier yarn will also make a slightly thicker, warmer fabric.

Per ball, Caron One Pound holds 742 m in 453 g and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice holds 156 m in 100 g. Five balls of Caron One Pound (3,710 m) are replaced by 24 balls of Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, and five balls of Lion Brand Vanna's Choice (780 m) by 2 balls of Caron One Pound. Always convert by length, never by weight or by number of balls.

Drape, fibre and texture

Both yarns share the same fibre family: Caron One Pound is 100 % acrylic and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice is 100 % acrylic, so they wash, block and wear in a similar way. Acrylic is light, affordable and machine-washable; it hides small tension changes and suits blankets and everyday pieces, but heat relaxes it permanently, so it should not be ironed.

With such similar density, Caron One Pound and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice will give fabrics of comparable weight and drape at the same gauge; any difference in hand will come mainly from the fibre.

They also share the same construction (Plied), so stitch definition and the way the yarn behaves on the hook should feel familiar when you switch.

Hook size and gauge

The ball bands recommend 5 mm for Caron One Pound and 6 mm for Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, with no hook size in common. Substituting one for the other will change the fabric, so swatch with each yarn's own hook and recalculate your stitch counts.

At least one manufacturer does not publish a reference gauge, so work a 12 × 12 cm swatch with your usual hook before comparing sizes.

Verdict: can you swap them?

Lion Brand Vanna's Choice is a strong substitute for Caron One Pound, with a Match Score of 82 %. Convert by length with the calculator above, work a quick swatch, and most patterns will need no other changes.

Caron One Pound gives more meters per ball, so you will usually buy fewer balls.

Whichever you choose, buy all the balls for a project from the same dye lot and keep the ball band for its care instructions.

Full Caron One Pound data sheet → Full Lion Brand Vanna's Choice data sheet → Calculate yarn for a whole project →