Aiko Alpaca is an amigurumi pattern. She stands 33cm / 13” high excluding her ears.

The yarn for the development of this pattern was kindly sponsored by African Expressions.

The yarn you’ll need is as follows:

2 x African Expressions Love (78% Mohair, 13% Wool,
9% Nylon) 50g/100m (1.76oz/ 109y) in 3062 (Dark Grey)
2 x African Expressions Harmony (100% Merino Wool) 50g/87m (1.76oz/95y) in 2062 (Dark Grey)
1 x African Expressions Freedom (75% Wool, 25% Acrylic) 50g/100m (1.76oz/109y) in 5263 (Light pink)
1 x African Expressions Freedom (75% Wool, 25% Acrylic) 50g/100m (1.76oz/109y) in 5079 (Teal)
1 x African Expressions Freedom (75% Wool, 25% Acrylic) 50g/100m (1.76oz/109y) in 5109 (Hot pink)

Other supplies:
Pair of 16mm amber coloured safety eyes
Fibre Fill or pure merino fill (preferred if available)
Scissors, measuring tape and tapestry needle for working away ends
If a fabric kerchief is preferred to the knitted kerchief you need a square of fabric that measures 20 x 20cm / 7.9”, already hemmed. This will be folded in half on the diagonal to form a triangle. You will need thread for sewing the heart embellishment to the fabric kerchief, if used.

Crochet hooks and knitting needles needed:
3.5mm (E-4) and 4mm (G-6) crochet hooks
4mm (6) circular knitting needles with short cable OR 20x20 cm / 7.9” scrap of fabric already hemmed

Notes:
•Unless otherwise indicated all amigurumi crochet parts are worked in a continuous spiral with no joins. The belly section is worked in turned rows. This is clearly indicated in the pattern.
•Please take note of the yarn under technique described in the special stitches section. Yarn under is used wherever sc st are used throughout. If you use a yarn over rather than yarn under you will find your Aiko is bigger than dimensions given.
•The knitted kerchief is worked in a corner-to-corner fashion, but only on the increase. The border is naturally formed by making the kfb at the start of each row.

Techniques used:

Yarn under: Rather than using the normal technique of yarning over, a yarn under creates a fabric that is less likely to contain holes, gives good stitch density and a more pleasing finish. For a sc you would insert hook into required st, then instead of grabbing the yarn from the bottom, grab with the hook over the top of the strand, pull through, complete st as normal. Instead of little Vs, the stitches appear to cross over and are more square.
This technique shouldn’t be worked too tightly as it uses less yarn and thus you may have holes if your work is tight. It is also hard on the hands, so working slightly more loosely, and with a bigger hook than usual, will give you a lovely fabric.

Increase: An increase is made by working two st into the same st.

Invisible decrease: An invisible decrease is less obvious and is formed by working decreases in the front loops only of the required st.

This pattern is available as a free download in UK and US versions.