Keyring Creatures

Welcome to my miniature world of Amigurumi Keyring Creatures! Keyrings can be very special, as they accompany us wherever we go and we can get very attached to them. These little fellows are designed with the specific purpose of brightening your day and making you (and others) smile. With them, you can feel warm and cosy inside regardless of the weather.

Because of their cuteness and convenient size, they make ideal Christmas presents and stocking fillers, but also wonderful gifts for your friends and loved ones, regardless of the season. 

These creatures are very quick and easy to make, and they are suitable for beginners, as they involve basic amigurumi techniques, such as single crochet in the round, basic colour changes, and sewing different parts together. 

The body and the head are crocheted in one piece and they are the same for all animals. The legs are crocheted in the same way for all animals, apart from the duckling. 

Click on an animal to get started: 

Keyring Teddy Bear

Keyring Puppy (Long Ears)

Keyring Puppy (Short Ears)

Keyring Bunny

Keyring Piggy

Keyring Duckling

Keyring Puppy (Short Ears)

Materials Needed

• DK or light DK yarn in coat colour,  main colour,  eye patch colour + small amounts of black for embroidering face features.
• A 2.5 mm crochet hook. The size of the hook is important, as anything bigger than 2.5 mm might result in an animal that is too large for a keyring. 
• Polyester fiberfill stuffing.
• A pair of 6 mm safety eyes.
• A yarn needle for sewing the different parts together.
• An embroidery needle for embroidering face features. 
• A stitch marker for working in the round (I use a bit of contrasting yarn, but you can also use especially designed plastic ones).
• A keyring keychain.

Keyring Puppy (Long Ears)

Materials Needed

• DK or light DK yarn in coat colour, main colour, eye patch colour, muzzle colour (optional, it can be the same as main colour) + small amounts of black for embroidering face features.
• A 2.5 mm crochet hook. The size of the hook is important, as anything bigger than 2.5 mm might result in an animal that is too big for a keyring. 
• Polyester fiberfill stuffing.
• A pair of 6 mm safety eyes.
• A yarn needle for sewing the different parts together.
• An embroidery needle for embroidering face features. 
• A stitch marker for working in the round (I use a bit of contrasting yarn, but you can also use especially designed plastic ones).
• A keyring keychain.

Valentine Puppy

The legs and arms of these puppies are worked directly from the body, so they don't need sewing. The only parts that need sewing are the ears to the head, the head to the body and the heart to the arms (optional). 

Materials needed

DK yarn in 

- main colour (cream in the picture), 

- black, 

- patch colour (black or brown) and 

- coat colour

- red or orange for the heart

3 mm crochet hook (or 2.50 mm for a smaller version)

1 pipe cleaner

Yarn needle

Polyfiber stuffing

6 mm black safety eyes

Stitch marker 

Hector, the Amigurumi Puppy

MATERIALS NEEDED

DK Yarn in beige, cream, blue, brown and black.
3.00 mm crochet hook.
Yarn needle.
Polyester stuffing.
A pair of 6 mm or 7.5 mm safety eyes.
A stitch marker to mark the beginning of each round.

ABBREVIATIONS USED

ch = chain
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
tr = treble crochet
hdc = half double crochet
sl st = slip stitch
inc = increase
dec = decrease
st = stitch
sts = stitches
CC = change colour
BLO = in back loops only
FLO = in front loops only
MR = magic ring
FO = fasten off

*This pattern uses American terminology.
Gauge is not important for this project.

HEAD

With cream, ch 4.
R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next, 3 sc in next, then working on the other side of the chain, sc in next, 2 sc in next. (8)
R2: (inc, 1) x 4 (12)
R3 & 4: sc across (12) CC to beige.
R5: 2, (inc, 1) x 3, 4 (15)
R6: 2, (inc, 2) x 3, 4 (18)
R7: 2, (inc, 3) x 3, 4 (21)
R8: 2, (inc, 4) x 3, 4 (24)
R9: (inc, 3) x 6 (30)
R10: (inc, 4) x 6 (36)
R11 & 12: sc across (36)
R13: (dec, 4) x 6 (30)
R14: sc across (30)
Insert safety eyes between R7 & 8, approx. 7 sts apart.
R15: (dec, 3) x 6 (24)
R16: sc across (24)
R17: (dec, 2) x 6 (18)
R18: (dec, 1) x 6 (12)
Stuff.
R19: dec x 6 (6)
FO.


NOSE

With black ch 2.
R1: 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, turn. (2)
R2: 2 sc in both sts (4)
FO, leaving long tail for sewing.
Attach to head, with the pointy bit starting at R1.
Use the remaining black thread to embroider mouth and eyebrows.

Alternatively, you can embroider nose. 

EARS

You can make them both in beige, or one in beige, one in cream (like the puppy in the photo).
R1: 6 sc in magic ring.
R2: (inc, 2) x 2 (8)
R3: (inc, 3) x 2 (10)
R4: (inc, 4) x 2 (12)
R5-12: sc across (12)

R13: sc x 5 through both thicknesses to close the gap. 
Sl st in next. FO, leaving long tail for sewing.
Attach ears to head, using photo as a guide to approximate the position.


BODY

With blue.
R1: 6 sc in magic ring.
R2: inc x 6 (12)
R3: (inc, 1) x 6 (18)
R4: (inc, 2) x 6 (24)
R5: (inc, 3) x 6 (30)
R6: (inc, 4) x 6 (36)
R7,8: sc across (36)
R9: (dec, 4) x 6 (30)
R10,11: sc across (30)
R12: (dec, 3) x 6 (24)
R13,14: sc across (24)
R15: (dec, 2) x 6 (18) 
R16: sc across (18) CC to beige
R17: (dec, 1) x 6 (12)
R18: sc across (12)
Stuff.
Sl st. FO, leaving long end for sewing.
Attach head to body.


LEGS (2)

With brown, ch 6.
R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 3, 3 sc in next, working on the other side of the chain, sc in next 3, 2 sc in next. (12)
R2: (inc, 1) x 6 (18)
R3: sc across (BLO) 

R4: 7, dec, sc dec, 6 (16)
R5: 6, dec, sc, dec, 5 (14)
R6: 6, dec, sc, dec, 3 (12) CC to beige
R7-9: sc across for 3 rnds (12) CC to blue
R10-17: sc across for 8 rnds (12)

R18: sc x 4, leave round unfinished. 
Sl st in next. FO leaving long end for sewing.
Stuff thoroughly. Sew legs to body.


ARMS (2)

With beige.
R1: 6 sc in MR.
R2: inc x 6 (12)
R3 & 4: sc across (12)
R5: (dec, 4) x 2 (10) CC to blue
R6-8: sc across (10)
R9: (dec, 3) x 2 (8)
R10-15: sc across (8)
Stuff.
R16: sc x 3 through both thicknesses. (3)
FO leaving long end for sewing.
Attach arms to body.

* If you made the ears in two different colours, you can do the same with the two hands (see puppy in the photo) :)