DIY Keychain

If you are new to keychain making, here are some easy and beginner-friendly ideas to get you started on your creative journey:

Create A Beaded Keychain
One simple yet beautiful idea is to make a beaded keychain. String colorful beads onto a keychain ring or chain to create a personalized accessory for your keys. You can choose beads in different shapes, sizes, and colors to match your style and preference. Beaded keychains are not only fun to make but also add a pop of color to your everyday essentials.

Make A Personalized Keychain
Add a personal touch to your keychain by attaching a small photo or a pendant that represents something meaningful to you. You can use a photo of a loved one, your favorite quote, or an initial pendant. This personalized keychain will serve as a constant reminder of what’s important to you and make your keys truly unique.

Decorate A Wooden Or Acrylic Keychain
Another easy option for beginners is to decorate a wooden or acrylic keychain shape. You can use paint, markers, or stickers to bring your keychain to life. Let your creativity soar and design a keychain that reflects your style and interests. Whether you choose to paint a cute design, draw your favorite symbol, or apply colorful stickers, the possibilities are endless.

Step One: Cut The Macrame Thread
The first step is to cut your macrame to double the length you’d like for your keyring. My final keyring is 10cm long, so I cut a 20cm piece of thread.

Step Two: Unravel Thread
The next step is to unravel your thread to make it thin enough to thread your beads onto.

If you use beads with a large enough hole in the middle, you can skip this step! Alternatively, you can use a different type of thread, which is slightly thinner, such as DK yarn.

Step Three: Tie a Loop and Knot
Fold your thread in half so you have two strands, and tie a knot at the top, leaving a small loop to attach your keyring.

Step Four: Thread the Beads
Next up, start threading your beads onto the macrame.

You can get creative here and use perler beads, beads all in one color, complimentary colors, or even beads with letters on to spell out a word.

Step Five: Secure The Beads
When all your beads are threaded on, tie a knot at the bottom. Make sure the knot is large enough so that the hole of the bottom bead can’t pass over it.

You might need to tie a few knots to make sure this doesn’t happen.

At this point, I then unraveled all the strands of the two threads to give the keychain a tassel-look at the bottom, which I love!

Step Six: Attach to Keyring
The last step is to attach the top loop of the keychain to a ring to which you can attach your keys.

There are loads of different sizes, shapes, and colors available, so choose one that most suits the style you’ve made your keychain in, or just opt for a plain silver one like I did.

Step 1 - Cutting Directions
Put simply, cut twice the finished width (or, twice the hardware width). My hardware was 1", so I cut all pieces 2" wide.
From fabric, cut two strips 2" x 14" from contrasting prints.
From interfacing or fusible fleece, cut:

One strip 2" x 14" of fusible fleece for stability and body.

Step 2 - Sew The Fabric Pieces Together
Place the two fabric pieces with the right sides together and sew along one long edge using a ¼" (6 mm) seam allowance. Press the seam alowance open.

Step 3 - Apply Interfacing Or Fusible Fleece
Center your fusible fleece piece on the fabric.
Following the manufacturer's instructions, apply fusible fleece to the fabric.
Fold both raw edges under, towards the center (the portion that is not covered by fusible fleece).

Step 4 - Topstitch Around
Time to fold the strap into the final position, so fold again and press from both sides. Fix in place using sewing clips or pins.
Once you’ve folded the entire strap, topstitch along the two long edges with a ⅛" (3 mm) seam allowance, using a long stitch length. For topstitching I usually use 3.5 to 4 mm stitch length, that's metric for something between 7 and 6 stitches per inch.
Optional: Play with stitches, you can add several rows. Just to show you options, I interfaced one fabric keychain using batting, and I stitched three lines for better stability. So cushy!

Step 5 - Fold In Half And Baste
Fold the strap in half, trim any stray threads if needed, and baste along the edge - you can also use a zigzag stitch if you feel like. Your diy keychain will be finished once you attach the keyfob hardware in the next step - it's simple.

Step 6 - Attach The Keyfob Hardware
This is the metal clamp piece you'll use to attach to fabric: notice the clamp, the teeth on the inside? You'll simply need to squeeze it - clamp it down to flatten, with the wrist strap end tucked inside