Bamboo yarn
A yarn-label name worth understanding, from plant source to finished fibre
- Check fibre type
- Often bamboo viscose
- Regenerated cellulose
- Cotton blends
- Smooth yarn options
Bamboo yarn is a familiar name in knitting and crochet, but it needs a closer reading than the name suggests. Many yarns sold under this heading contain viscose made using bamboo as the cellulose source. That is a manufactured, regenerated cellulose fibre, rather than fibre simply extracted from the plant and spun in the way cotton or linen is. The distinction helps you compare products accurately and understand what the composition label is telling you.
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From plant source to regenerated fibre
Bamboo can supply the cellulose used to make viscose. The cellulose is processed and regenerated into fibres before those fibres become yarn. Directly processed bamboo fibre also exists, but it should not be assumed to be the material in every product called bamboo yarn.
The US Federal Trade Commission distinguishes actual bamboo fibre from rayon or viscose made from bamboo. Its guidance also cautions against assuming that properties of the living plant, such as resistance to bacteria, survive the conversion into rayon. A plant source by itself does not establish that the finished yarn is antibacterial or environmentally preferable.
Reading a bamboo yarn for your project
Start with the manufacturer's full fibre description. Hobbii Rainbow Bamboo, for example, specifies 60% bamboo viscose and 40% cotton. The named plant source and the regenerated fibre type are both useful information, while the cotton is a separate component of the blend.
For a smooth garment yarn, assess drape and stitch structure with a washed sample. Do not assume the same spring as a wool yarn, particularly when adapting fitted ribbing or a sweater that carries weight at the shoulders. Compare actual gauge, metres per gram and the full blend, including any supporting fibres. Follow the product's care instructions, since the word bamboo does not establish how to wash or dry the finished piece. A substitute should match the fabric you need and the role of the original yarn, as well as its advertised plant origin.
- Yarns
- 18
- 0 pure (≥90 %)
- Gauge
- 16–28
- sts / 10 cm
- Needles
- 2.5–5.5 mm
- Typical length
- 260 m
- per 100 g
Often blended with
Brands with bamboo yarns
All bamboo yarns
Questions about bamboo yarn
Care, gauge and substitution tips for bamboo, combined with live data from our catalogue.
Is bamboo yarn usually the same as bamboo viscose?+
Many products sold as bamboo yarn contain viscose made from bamboo-derived cellulose. Check the composition rather than assuming direct bamboo fibre. The source plant and the fibre-production method are different pieces of information.
Is bamboo viscose a natural fibre like cotton?+
It is a regenerated cellulose fibre made using a plant-derived raw material. Cotton is a natural fibre harvested from the plant. Bamboo viscose should be described with its actual fibre type rather than treated as raw bamboo fibre.
Is bamboo yarn naturally antibacterial?+
Do not assume so. The FTC states that a bamboo plant's resistance to bacteria is not evidence that rayon made from it retains a naturally antibacterial property. Any such claim needs evidence for the finished material.
Can bamboo yarn replace cotton or wool?+
It depends on the actual fibre and blend. A bamboo-viscose blend may suit a draped garment but behave differently from an elastic wool fabric. Wash a sample and check dimensions, recovery and drape before using it as a substitute.