Lion Brand Ice Cream Big Scoop Yarn Review

Today I am going to be reviewing Lion Brand’s Ice Cream Big Scoop Yarn! If you have seen some of my usual projects, you ay notice that this yarn is waaaay out of my usual comfort zone, but I have been feeling rather adventurous lately so I figured I would just go for it and see what happens!

I have played it very safe with colors over the years. I hardly ever mix colors in my designs, but recently I kind got to thinking that I need to challenge myself more and bring in different elements into my work that I might not be used to or comfortable with. So here I am opening my mind to new colors!

Other than my designs, my everyday wardrobe is also not incredibly colorful, but I have recently been inspired by many Disney bloggers to be fun and wacky with color sin my wardrobe, so this whole review is intended for me to do just that!

Now before we get into the review, lets hear a little bit about Lion Brand if you don’t already know about them!

Lion Brand is a family owned US company that has been around since 1878! If you have ever been down a yarn isle (which is you are ready this, i’m sure you have) you have probably seen Lion Brand Yarn before.

They are fairly innovative, coming out with new lines of yarn pretty much all of the time, and always seem to be upping their game each time from what I have heard through the grapevine. So I am super excited to finally join the adventure of their yarn launches and look forward to trying everything out!

If you want to find out more about Lion Brand, check out some of their social media accounts!

Website 
Instagram
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Yarn Review

Now, let’s get into the actual review of the Ice Cream Big Scoop Yarn! Because I am going to try to do more yarn reviews, I am mostly going to only be getting one color of each yarn that I review. I already can’t fit all of the yarn I currently have in my apartment so I need to really flex those self control muscles from now on!

Now one thing to note about the Ice Cream Big Scoop is that it is the latest edition to their original Ice Cream Yarn. The differences are minimal, in fact other than it being available in different colors, the main difference is just that it is more yarn.

I have definitely noticed that Lion Brand is starting the trend of offering their current yarns in an alternative size that has a much higher yardage. Personally, I absolutely love that they are doing this ( I guess I can’t really imagine anyone not loving though? haha).

They understand that for a lot of projects, people are going to have to buy multiple skeins, and if this is such a common occurrence, why not give the people what they want in the convenience of a single skein?

So for example, the original Ice Cream Yarn comes with 394 yards, while the Ice Cream Big Scoop comes with 1117 yards!

Ice Cream Big Scoop is currently available in 16 colors. Now I know that I am trying to get more adventurous with colors, but some of these are a little too bold for me haha, but they definitely have something for everyone I think. I definitely stayed safe an got myself the pastel rainbow color way.

Colors Purchased: Tutti Frutti (206)
Weight: Light DK (3)
Material: 100% Acrylic
Length: 1 Skein = Approximately 1117 Yards (1022 Meters)
Recommended Hook Size: 5 mm
Recommended Needle Size: 3.75mm

Texture:

The main reasons I picked up this yarn was that I enjoyed the colors and the yardage was fantastic for the price, I also thought it was soft, however, I didn’t realize just HOW soft it is!

I have used quite a few 100% acrylic yarns in my day and this one is quite something guys. While working it up I started to notice how pillowy soft it was, but once I finished the cardigan I made with it, WOW, it is SO soft!

Other than it feeling like a nice soft fluffy cloud there is absolutely ZERO itch factor. I always expect even the softest yarns to start to feel itchy after a while, but that doesn’t seem to happen with this yarn!

Color Match:

For once this is a yarn that I purchased in person at Michaels rather than online, so I was able to see and feel it before I purchased it. So I made sure to check out the Lion Brand Website at the online swatched to compare them to what I had.

Overall I would say that the color match is pretty spot on. My biggest critique would be that the colors are slightly warmer and a tad more vibrant in person than they appear on the website.

I still find the in person colors to be very pleasant and I don’t think you will be shocked by the minor differences!

Workability:

In terms of workability, I have no more complaints for Ice Cream Big Scoop than I normally would for any other yarn.

The yarn actually did not snag or separate while I was working with at all which is a big plus! So I would say it is very stable in terms of not unraveling its self.

The only down side, which almost ALL yarns are guilty of, is that if the yarn is frogged and work back up multiple times, it will start to lose its integrity, but again I would say that pretty much every yarn starts to do that over time.

Additionally, because of it’s soft and airy qualities, it glides very nicely on the hook allowing you to stitch quick and efficiently, which is what we all want in the end right?

Finished Product:

As of now, I have completed one project with this yarn. I created a simple block stitch cardigan with added ribbing ( the ribbing is a different Lion Brand Yarn).

Not going to lie, I freaked out a little bit when I first started working up this cardigan because the pooling was so unsymmetrical and was 100% out of my comfort zone. However, over time I started to warm up to it and also figured out how to make some aspects of the pooling get a little more symmetrical for the front panels and the sleeves.

Over all, I LOVE this cardigan! I achieved my goal of adding more bold and unique colors to my wardrobe that I wouldn’t normally wear AND it is so warm and soft, it just feels like a constant hug.

# of Skeins Used: 3/4 of 1 Skein
Hook Size Used: 5mm

When using the recommended hook and anything large, this yarn creates a wonderfully soft drape that is perfect for garments and blankets!

Affordability:

Usually Lion Brand Yarns are a bit more expensive per skein than what I would usually reach for. I think that is also why they are starting to do these larger skein offers! On the Lion Brand site, this yarn runs for $13.49 per skein, but when I purchased it at Micheals it was $9.99.

Additionally Michaels and Joanna almost always have coupons for 40 – 50% off a regular priced item going on, so you could snag this for a pretty heavily discounted price usually!

If you asked me if the yarn is worth the price I would say absolutely. If you were to get this kind of yardage from the original Ice Cream Yarn, you would have to get 3 skeins which would end up being about $15, so if you could possibly get it at Michaels or Joann for $6, i’d say its a pretty nifty deal!

I didn’t even use an entire skein to make this whole cardigan! I have enough left to make a whole other project, so you definitely get a lot of bang for your buck!

Where to Buy Ice Cream Big Scoop?

Naturally since Touch of Merino is a Lion Brand yarn, you can find it for sale directly on their website.

The second most likely place you will find it is on the Joann Website (or a physical Joann store of course) where as I mentioned before, you are super likely to find they are having a general sale on your whole purchase or at least a 40-50% discount on one regular priced item.
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Michaels is also currently carrying Ice Cream Big Scoop. One thing to note is that Michaels online store often makes you buy yarn in multiples of 3 which can be frustrating, so personally I recommend sticking with Joann online over Michaels. But you can pick up a single skein of this at an actual Michaels store.

Summary

In conclusion, I really love this yarn! I don’t know that I am quite ready to branch out to any of the other colors that they carry as of now (maybe one day), but the quality of the yarn is amazing!

I have already been wearing the cardigan everyday since I made it and it keeps me nice and warm and snuggly for this last leg of Winter, but honestly I will probably wear it pretty often even when it isn’t winter haha.

Overall I highly recommend this yarn if you are looking for something super soft and aren’t afraid of a little unsymmetrical color pooling!