Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran vs Lion Brand Pound of Love

Technical verdict: Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran vs Lion Brand Pound of Love

Weight category, yardage and value per ball

Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran and Lion Brand Pound of Love 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.

Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran is the longer yarn per gram, with 220 m per 100 g against 205 m per 100 g for Lion Brand Pound of Love, a difference of 7 %. For the same 1,000 m of yarn, the project weighs about 455 g in Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran and 487 g in Lion Brand Pound of Love. 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, Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran holds 220 m in 100 g and Lion Brand Pound of Love holds 932 m in 454 g. Five balls of Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran (1,100 m) are replaced by 2 balls of Lion Brand Pound of Love, and five balls of Lion Brand Pound of Love (4,660 m) by 22 balls of Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran. Always convert by length, never by weight or by number of balls.

Drape, fibre and texture

Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran is 55 % nylon, 45 % acrylic. The nylon content adds strength and abrasion resistance, so the yarn holds up to washing and wear in socks, toys and hard-wearing pieces.

Lion Brand Pound of Love, on the other hand, is 100 % acrylic. 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, Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran and Lion Brand Pound of Love 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

Both ball bands recommend the same hook, 5–6 mm, so you can start your swatch with the hook size the pattern already calls for.

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 Pound of Love can replace Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran with some adjustments (Match Score 79 %). Expect small differences in gauge or drape: swatch first and be ready to change the hook by half a size.

Lion Brand Pound of Love 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 Cascade Yarns Cherub Aran data sheet → Full Lion Brand Pound of Love data sheet → Calculate yarn for a whole project →