Knit Picks Brava Worsted vs Lion Brand Pound of Love

Technical verdict: Knit Picks Brava Worsted vs Lion Brand Pound of Love

Weight category, yardage and value per ball

Knit Picks Brava Worsted 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.

Their linear density is practically identical: Knit Picks Brava Worsted gives 200 m per 100 g and Lion Brand Pound of Love gives 205 m per 100 g. A project that uses 1,000 m of yarn weighs about 500 g in the first and 487 g in the second, so the finished piece will feel equally heavy.

Per ball, Knit Picks Brava Worsted holds 200 m in 100 g and Lion Brand Pound of Love holds 932 m in 454 g. Five balls of Knit Picks Brava Worsted (1,000 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 24 balls of Knit Picks Brava Worsted. Always convert by length, never by weight or by number of balls.

Drape, fibre and texture

Both yarns share the same fibre family: Knit Picks Brava Worsted is 100 % acrylic and Lion Brand Pound of Love 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, Knit Picks Brava Worsted 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

The ball bands recommend 5.5–6.5 mm for Knit Picks Brava Worsted and 5–6 mm for Lion Brand Pound of Love. The ranges overlap at 5.5–6 mm, which is the safest hook to start a test swatch for either yarn.

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 is a strong substitute for Knit Picks Brava Worsted, with a Match Score of 91 %. Convert by length with the calculator above, work a quick swatch, and most patterns will need no other changes.

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 Knit Picks Brava Worsted data sheet → Full Lion Brand Pound of Love data sheet → Calculate yarn for a whole project →