Jun
Getting Started With Your Llama Thing
So basically you’re gonna need worsted weight yarn for this, I used Red Heart Super Saver in like cream or off-white for the body when I made one last spring 2022 because my niece wouldn’t stop talking about llamas. The stuff is cheap and honestly works fine even though everyone acts like you need fancy yarn. I also grabbed some brown for the hooves and maybe some pink for inner ears but you can skip that if you want.
For the hook I used a 3.5mm which is smaller than what the yarn label says but that’s the whole point with amigurumi – you want tight stitches so the stuffing doesn’t show through. If you use the recommended hook size you’ll just have gaps everywhere and it looks bad.
The Body Part
Start with a magic ring, which I know some people hate but it’s honestly the best way. Chain 2 (doesn’t count as a stitch), then do 6 single crochets into the ring. Pull it tight. That’s round 1.
Round 2 is just increasing in every stitch so you end up with 12 stitches total. Round 3 you do the whole sc, inc pattern around so that’s 18 stitches. Keep going with this pattern – round 4 is sc2, inc around for 24 stitches. Round 5 is sc3, inc for 30 stitches. I usually go up to 36 stitches for the body which means round 6 is sc4, inc around.
Then you just work even (no increases) for like 15-20 rounds depending on how long you want the body. My cat kept trying to steal my yarn ball during this part which was super annoying because I’d lose count.
When you get to where you want it to end, start decreasing the same way you increased. So sc4, dec around, then sc3, dec, then sc2, dec, and so on. Before you close it up completely you gotta stuff it with polyfil. Don’t pack it too tight or it’ll look weird and lumpy.
The Head Which Is Basically The Same
The head starts exactly the same way. Magic ring, 6 sc, then increase rounds. I went up to 42 stitches for the head because llamas have those kind of elongated faces? Or wait maybe that’s more of an alpaca thing but everyone calls them llamas anyway.
After you get to your max stitches, work even for maybe 8-10 rounds. Then here’s where you shape the snout – you’re gonna work short rows basically. This part annoyed me so much because I kept losing track of where I was. You work across maybe 12 stitches, turn, work back, turn, work across. Do this maybe 4 times to build up that snout area.
Then continue working in the round again and start your decreases. Stuff the head before closing it up. The stuffing is important because if you don’t do it right the head will be all floppy and won’t attach to the body well.
Attaching The Head
I used the same yarn to sew the head onto the body and honestly just eyeballed the placement. You want it kind of tilted up a little so the llama looks like it’s got attitude. Use a yarn needle and go through the body and head stitches multiple times to make it secure. I learned this the hard way when my first attempt’s head just flopped to the side.
Legs Are Tedious But Whatever
For the legs you’ll make 4 of them obviously. Start with the hooves in brown if you’re doing that. Magic ring, 6 sc, then increase to 12 stitches. Work even for 3 rounds. Then switch to your main color (I just carried the brown up inside but you can cut it and weave in ends if you’re not lazy like me).
Continue working even in your main color for like 12-15 rounds depending on how tall you want the legs. Don’t stuff the legs super full, just enough so they’re not totally flat but they still have some bend to them.
When I made mine I was watching that baking show, you know the British one, and I got distracted and made one leg way longer than the others which was so frustrating because I had to frog it and start over.
Flatten the top of each leg and single crochet across to close them. Then position them on the body – front legs toward the front obviously and back legs toward the back. Sew them on really securely because if a kid is gonna play with this they will definitely pull on the legs.
Ears That Stand Up
The ears are what make it actually look like a llama instead of just some blob animal. Chain like 8 or 10, then sc back down the chain. When you get to the bottom, chain 1, turn, and sc back up the other side. You’re basically making a long oval shape.
If you want inner ears you can make smaller pieces in pink or whatever color and sew them on before attaching the ears to the head. I skipped this because honestly who’s gonna look that closely.
Fold the bottom of each ear slightly and sew them onto the top of the head. They should point up and slightly out to the sides. Don’t put them too far apart or it looks weird – I made that mistake on my first one and it looked more like a rabbit or something.
The Neck Situation
Okay so llamas have long necks right, but when you attach the head directly to the body it looks stubby. What I did was make a separate neck piece which is basically a tube. Start with a magic ring, 6 sc, increase to 12, maybe increase once more to 18 depending on how thick you want it.
Then work even for like 10-12 rounds. This gets sewn between the head and body and honestly it makes such a difference. The first llama I made without this looked so weird and squat.
Stuff the neck lightly and sew one end to the body and the other end to the head. Make sure it’s centered or the whole thing will look lopsided.
Face Details And Stuff
For the eyes I just used safety eyes in black, size 12mm I think? Put them on before you finish stuffing the head obviously because you can’t get the backs on after. Position them kind of on the sides of the head because llamas have that side-eye thing going on.
You can embroider a nose and mouth with black yarn. I just did a little triangle for the nose and a curved line for the mouth to make it look like it’s smiling or being smug. Llamas always look smug in photos.
Some people add eyelashes with embroidery which looks cute but I didn’t bother. You could also add nostrils if you want to get detailed but again… seems like extra work.
The Tail
Almost forgot about the tail. Make a small magic ring with like 4 sc, then work even for maybe 6-8 rounds. You can stuff it very lightly or leave it unstuffed. Sew it onto the back end of the body. The tail is pretty short on llamas, not long and flowing like a horse or whatever.
Optional Fluffy Bits
If you want to get fancy you can add that fluffy fur texture that llamas have. What I did was cut a bunch of yarn pieces all the same length – maybe 3 inches each. Then use a crochet hook to pull them through stitches on the head and body, fold them in half, and pull the ends through the loop to secure them. It’s called loop stitch or fringe or… I don’t know the technical term.
Do this all over the top of the head and down the neck and back to make it look fuzzy. This takes FOREVER though and honestly was the most annoying part of the whole project. My fingers hurt after doing like 50 of these little fringe things. But it does look really good when it’s done.
You can also just skip this entirely and have a smooth llama which is totally fine. The one I made for my niece I did add the fluff and she loved it but I’ve made others since without it and they still look like llamas.
Different Yarn Options
I mentioned Red Heart Super Saver but you could also use Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice which is pretty similar. Or if you want something softer there’s Caron Simply Soft but it’s a bit more expensive. Bernat blanket yarn would make a huge llama if you sized up your hook but that seems excessive.
Some people use fancy alpaca yarn to make an alpaca which is kind of funny and meta but alpaca yarn is pricey. I saw someone use Hobbii’s Rainbow Cotton which gave it a really nice finish but again, more expensive than just grabbing Red Heart at Walmart.
The color options are endless obviously – you can do natural colors like cream, brown, grey, or go wild with rainbow colors. I’ve seen people make galaxy-patterned llamas with that variegated yarn which actually looks cool.
Sizing Things
With a 3.5mm hook and worsted weight yarn, the finished llama is maybe 8-10 inches tall depending on how long you make the neck and legs. If you want bigger, use a 5mm hook or bulky yarn. Smaller would be like a 2.5mm hook with sport weight yarn but that seems tedious.
Just keep your tension consistent throughout or different body parts will be different densities and it’ll look off. This is something I still struggle with honestly – sometimes my tension is tighter when I first start crocheting and loosens up as I go.
Common Problems I Had
The head being too heavy and flopping forward was an issue until I figured out the neck piece thing. Also my first attempt at legs were too thin and couldn’t support the body weight so the llama kept falling over. Had to make thicker legs with more stitches.
Stuffing is tricky – too much and it’s rock hard and weird looking, too little and it’s floppy and sad. You kinda have to feel it out as you go. I use the cheap polyfil from the craft store and it works fine even though it clumps sometimes.
Keeping count of rounds is annoying especially on the body when you’re doing like 20 rounds of the same thing. I use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of each round which helps but I still lose track sometimes and have to count all the stitches to figure out where I am.
Variations You Could Try
You could make a baby llama by just doing fewer increase rounds so everything is smaller. Or make a whole family of llamas in different sizes which would be cute I guess.
Add a blanket or saddle on the back by crocheting a small rectangle and sewing it on. You could put little tassels or pom poms on it to make it decorative.
Some people make llamas with bent legs so they’re sitting down which changes the leg construction – you’d need to make them with wire inside or something to pose them. I haven’t tried that yet.
You could also make accessories like a little hat or flower crown or whatever. There’s patterns out there for tiny crochet flowers that you could attach to the head.
Time Investment
The whole thing took me probably 6-8 hours spread over a few days? The body and head go pretty quick but the legs take a while because you’re making four of them and they’re boring. If you add the fluffy fringe stuff add another 2-3 hours easily.
I usually work on these while watching TV or listening to podcasts because it’s pretty mindless once you get into the rhythm of it. The shaping parts require more attention but most of it is just repetitive rounds of single crochet.
