Happy Leap Day! I really wanted to post today just so I could see “February 29” as the date. Also, I had this post in my drafts folder for ages, but I never got around to uploading pictures. So this is the perfect information to finally share the pattern. 🙂

A little background on today’s pattern: As many of you know, I’m a Lunartic (meaning I love the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer). I went to the Lunar ball which I posted about here, and I crocheted versions of each of the four main characters in the series. Click here to see all my posts tagged Lunar Chronicles; there are a fair amount!

Anyway, I was ridiculously excited when I found out Marissa Meyer was coming to my city on her Stars Above tour. As you may recall, I regretted not giving her one of the dolls at the launch party, so I was determined to crochet something for her this time. I ended up making Iko, Cinder’s loyal and adorable android friend.

After a few hours of waiting in line (during which I devoured the Winter epilogue in Stars Above), I gave Iko to my favorite author, and she loved her! 😀

I dressed up as Scarlet; I wanted to wear a cape, but didn’t have time to make one. So I wore a red hoodie, a crescent moon necklace, and (possible spoiler warning) bandaged my finger up like this:

I whipped Iko up the day before the launch party, and I wrote down the pattern as I went. I based her off of the descriptions in Cinder and in some fan art I found online, but this was mostly how I pictured her in the books, complete with the treads. That was my favorite part.

In Cinder, Iko tries on some of Adri’s (the stepmother) pearls, so I made her a necklace too. I was so tickled when Marissa Meyer said something like, “Oh, and you did the pearls!” It just made my day. The whole launch party did. That was a fantastic week. 😀

You can probably tell how excited I am in that picture, based on the huge smile and how I’m nervously hugging my arms to myself. I know my brain was basically going !!!!!!!! at that point. As the line got shorter, I had to take some calming breaths because I felt dizzy and didn’t want to pass out. “And here we see a fangirl in her natural habitat…” XD

One note: Please don’t sell the items you make from this pattern! I don’t want to step on my favorite author’s toes with any copyright restrictions. I didn’t invent Iko, I just wanted to share the pattern in case there are any other crocheting Lunartics who want their own Iko. (As a side note on this side note, I think this is a good non-specific robot pattern, don’t you? Just leave off the pearls and she could be a droid for any purpose.)

Materials

• Red Heart Soft yarn in white (or other worsted weight yarn of your choice) – you’ll need much less than a full skein
• Patons Metallic yarn in silver color (you could use gray instead, but I liked the metallic android aspect of this kind)
• Small amount of dark blue worsted weight yarn
• About a yard of light blue yarn
• Black worsted weight yarn
• 28(ish) gauge wire – I don’t remember the exact gauge I used, it doesn’t matter if you have a different kind. This is to make the arms posable.
• Medical tape (to tape the wire)
• G (4.00 MM) crochet hook
• Yarn needle
• Scissors
• Optional materials for necklace: 
• I used Rowan Kidsilk Haze, which I got as a present – it’s a very lightweight mohair yarn. I wanted Iko to have something luxurious.
• 2.1 MM crochet hook

Body

Rnd 1: Make a magic ring OR ch 2. 6 sc in magic ring or 2nd ch from hook.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around.

Rnd 3: *sc, 2 sc in next st* around.

Rnd 4: *sc 2, 2 sc in next st* around.

Rnd 5: *sc 3, 2 sc in next st* around.

Rnd 6: Sc around.

Rnd 7: *sc 4, 2 sc in next st* around.

Rnd 8-12: Sc around.

Pause for a minute and grab your black yarn. Add a round of surface slip stitch on Round 11. Then continue with the white yarn.

Rnd 13: *sc 5, 2 sc in next st* around.

Rnd 14-25: Sc around.

Rnd 26: In back loops only, *sc 5, sc2tog* around.

Rnd 27: *sc 4, sc2tog* around.

Rnd 28: *sc 1, sc2tog* around until 1 st remains, sc 1.

Stuff firmly, but don’t put too much stuffing in the base so it will lay flat. Continue to stuff as you finish decreasing.

Rnd 29: *sc 2, sc2tog* around.

Rnd 30: *sc 1, sc2tog* around.

Rnd 31: *sc2tog* 3 times. Fasten off, sew hole closed.

Treads

Base (make 6)

With black yarn:

Rnd 1: Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

Rnd 2-3: Sc in each st around.

Fasten off, leaving tail for sewing. Sew 3 bases on each side of Iko in a small triangle shape. See picture for reference.

Belt (make 2)

With metallic yarn:

Row 1: Ch 5, sc in 2nd ch from hk and in each ch across (4 sts)

Row 2-16: Ch 1, turn, sc in back loops of first 3 sts, sc in both loops of last stitch (4 sts)

Fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing. Sew the belt into a loop, going through back loops of Row 16 and bottom loops of the starting chain. Put the belt over the triangle-base and make stitches through each base to secure it, so it doesn’t slip off. Weave in ends.

Sensor

With dark blue yarn:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in a magic ring.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around.

Rnd 3: Sc in each st around.

Fasten off, leaving long tail for sewing, and sew to Iko’s “face” above the black line. Embroider a light blue circle with backstitch around the sensor.

Arms

This is a basic summary of how I did Iko’s arms. It’s definitely not safe for small children, because of the wire. I would only do her arms like this if she’s going to be displayed, not played with.

1. Cut a super long piece of wire, 2 feet or so. Fold it in half, then half again, and twist it together so it stays put.
2. Thread the wire through Iko’s body. There will be a few inches of wire sticking out either side, which will be her arms.
3. Cut the loops at either end of her arms, then spread the strands of wire out so there are 2 on each side. Fold them back so the raw edge of wire won’t impale anyone. These will be her “pincers,” or hands.
4. Wrap her arms in medical tape (aw, it sounds like Iko got injured or something!). Start with the pincers – wrap each one in a piece of tape, then work your way down her arm. This should make them thicker as well, so try to make it even.
5. At this point make sure her arms are the same length.
6. Wrap each arm in metallic yarn, starting from the top. Tie a knot and work your way down her arm. When you get to her pincers, do one claw first, then wrap back down the claw. Wrap the other claw, then wrap back down it, then wrap back down the entire arm. Tie the ends together and pull them into the body to hide them.
7. Now your Iko has poseable arms!

Finishing

I chose to apply some blush to her cheeks with pink crayon, because one of Iko’s lines is, “Check my fan, I think I’m overheating!” Androids can’t blush, but it’s Iko. I’m sure if any android could find a way to blush, it would be her. 😉

Necklace

Iko loves fashion, so I felt the need to make her a necklace. A luxurious, fluffy mohair necklace. Check the materials list for the yarn I used.

[*Ch 4, 3-dc cluster in back bump of 4th chain from hook.* Do *this* 26 times. Sl st the strand together, don’t cut the yarn.] Repeat between [ brackets ] two more times to make two more strands. Fasten off, weave in ends.

And your Iko is complete! 😀

I hope you enjoyed this pattern; I haven’t had this much fun designing an amigurumi in a long time! I’m so happy I got to meet Marissa Meyer again and that I could get Stars Above signed. I know I’ll be a lifelong fan of hers…I can’t wait until November when Heartless comes out. Also, there will be some graphic novels about Iko next year, so I’m incredibly excited about that! Ah, the wonderful life of a fangirl…so many things to anticipate. 😉

What books do y’all like? Are there any Lunartics out there? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

And once again, happy Leap Day – because I can only say it once every four years! 🙂