Crochet Frankenstein Keychain

This crochet Frankenstein keychain is a mini green monster head with a flat black top, a jagged black fringe, two grey bolts and a stitched scar. The head is worked in one piece from the top down: a flat black disc for the top, a black hair band, then the green face. The eyes are 6 mm safety eyes, and the fringe, scar and mouth are embroidered. You'll need DK cotton in green, black and grey, a 2.5 mm hook and about 1½ hours.

Key Takeaways

• Four crocheted pieces: the head, two bolts and a chain loop.
• A flat top and a flat bottom: one back-loop round at each edge gives the head crisp edges, so from the front it reads as a square head, not a ball.
• The eyes and the loop go in together, while the head is still wide open, so every washer and knot hides inside.
• Two tiny bolts: 6 sc each, sewn on the sides at eye level.

Why I love this keychain

A flat head, a black fringe, two bolts and a scar. Four details, and everyone knows who it is from across the room. The flat top is what makes it a monster and not just a green ball. One round in the back loops turns the edge down sharply, and the head comes out square-shouldered.

It's a fun one to make next to my crochet skull keychain: the same size, the same loop, and together they look like a little Halloween gang on a bag zip.

Skill level. Easy. You need a magic ring, sc, inc and dec, two rounds in the back loops only, one color change, and a few simple embroidery stitches for the face (satin stitch, backstitch and straight stitch). I explain each part where you need it.

What you'll need

Yarn (DK #3 cotton)

Color	Used for	Amount
Sage or pistachio green	Face	about 11 yd
Black	Top, hair band, fringe, scar, mouth, chain loop	about 11 yd
Grey	Bolts	about 2 yd

• I like Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK. It's smooth and the stitches stay crisp at this size. Any DK cotton works: check your size against the gauge below.
• I've worked these amounts out from the stitch count, with tails for sewing. They're estimates.

Hook

• 2.5 mm. It's small for DK on purpose: the fabric comes out firm, so the stuffing doesn't show through.

Notions

• Two 6 mm black safety eyes with their washers.
• Fiberfill, 2 stitch markers, 3 sewing pins, a tapestry needle and scissors.
• A split key ring (25 mm / 1 in) with a short chain.

Gauge

Gauge isn't critical. Crochet tightly enough that the stuffing doesn't show between the stitches. With DK cotton and a 2.5 mm hook, that's about 6 sc per inch (2.5 cm), with rounds about as tall as the stitches are wide. At that tension, the head should come out about 1½ in (4 cm) wide and 1¾ in (4.5 cm) tall. Those sizes are estimates, so measure yours: your tension and how firmly you stuff both change them.

Abbreviations (US crochet terms)

• MR: magic ring
• ch: chain
• sc: single crochet
• inc: 2 sc in the same st
• dec: single crochet 2 together (I use the invisible decrease: insert the hook in the front loop of the next 2 sts, yarn over and pull through both front loops, yarn over and pull through the 2 loops on the hook)
• sl st: slip stitch
• BLO: back loop only
• R: round
• st(s): stitch(es)

Work in continuous spiral rounds. Don't join, and move your marker up at the start of each round. The number in parentheses at the end of each round is the stitch count.

How the head is built

Here's the whole thing in one sentence. The head starts with a magic ring in the middle of the flat black top, turns down into a black hair band, changes to green for the face and closes at the bottom. The little step where the rounds meet is the back of the head, so the face goes on the opposite side. The chain loop and the safety eyes go in while the head is an open tube. The face details and the bolts are added before the last rounds, so every knot hides inside.

The pattern, step by step

Part 1: The bolts and the loop

Make 2 bolts in grey, and 1 loop in black.

Bolts (grey, make 2). Two tiny cylinders.

• R1: MR, 6 sc in the ring. (6) Pull the ring closed tight. This is the end of the bolt.
• R2: in BLO, sc around. (6) The edge turns up into a little tube.
• R3: sc around. (6)

Sl st in the next st and fasten off, leaving a 10 in (25 cm) tail for sewing. Don't stuff them: at this size the bolts hold their shape on their own.

Chain loop (black, make 1). Leave an 8 in (20 cm) starting tail, ch 6, fasten off leaving a second 8 in (20 cm) tail. Don't join it into a ring: the two tails go into the head in Part 2.

Part 2: The head, from the flat top down

Make 1, in black and green.

Changing color. Work the last sc of the round until 2 loops are left on the hook, then finish it with the new color. Cut the black, leaving a 6 in (15 cm) tail, and tie the two tails together loosely on the inside. The step where the rounds meet is the back of the head, so keep the color change there.

Top and hair (black).

• R1: MR, 6 sc in the ring. (6) Pull the ring closed tight. This is the middle of the flat top, where the loop will hang.
• R2: inc × 6. (12)
• R3: (sc, inc) × 6. (18)
• R4: (sc 2, inc) × 6. (24)
• R5: (sc 3, inc) × 6. (30) The top is a flat disc.
• R6: in BLO, sc around. (30) The edge turns straight down. The free front loops of R5 make a neat ridge all around the top.
• R7–R8: sc around. (30) 2 rounds: the hair band. Change to green in the last st of R8.

Face (green).

• R9–R14: sc around. (30) 6 rounds. The sides go straight down.

Fix the loop and the safety eyes now, after R14. Keep your marker in the last st and leave the live loop on a second marker so it can't unravel. The head is an open tube, and you can reach the inside with your fingers.

1. Loop. Hold the head with the marker (the back) facing away from you. Thread one tail of the chain onto the tapestry needle and push it from the outside to the inside of the top, between R1 and R2, on the left of the magic ring. Do the same with the other tail between R1 and R2, on the right of the ring. Inside, pull until only a short black loop stands above the top, about ½ in (1.2 cm) tall, and tie the two tails in a tight double knot against the top. With each tail in turn, sew 5 small stitches through the inside of the top around the knot, catching only the inner half of the stitches. That's 10 small stitches in total. Trim the tails to about 1 in (2.5 cm).
2. Find center front. Count 15 sts along R11 from the last st of the round (straight below your marker, the back of the head) and put a pin in the 15th st. That's center front. Every placement on the face starts from this pin.
3. Safety eyes. Push the post of each 6 mm eye through the fabric between R11 and R12: one 3 sts to the left of the pin, one 3 sts to the right of the pin. That leaves 6 sts between the two posts, so each eye sits about halfway between center front and the side of the head. Look at the face from the front before you lock them: both eyes at the same height, the same distance from the pin, wide set. Then push the washers onto the posts from the inside, flat side against the fabric, until they click.

Give the loop a few firm tugs from the outside. It shouldn't move.

Part 3: Shape the bottom, then the face and bolts

Put the live loop back on your hook.

• R15: in BLO, (sc 3, dec) × 6. (24) The free front loops of R14 make a ridge all around the bottom edge, so the head stands square.
• R16: (sc 2, dec) × 6. (18)

Don't fasten off. Slip the live loop onto a marker. Trim the two color-change tails (tied together inside, at the back) to about 1 in (2.5 cm): you can't reach them once the head is closed.

Stuff the head now, firmly, pushing the fiberfill right up under the flat top and out to the ridge at its edge, so the top stays flat and the sides stay straight. From the front, the head should read as a square.

The bottom is still open, so you can start and end every thread inside the head. For each detail, knot the black yarn inside, bring the needle out where the stitch starts, and take it back in through the opening when you're done. The pin at center front is still your guide.

1. Jagged fringe. With black, embroider 3 filled triangles in satin stitch, all hanging from the bottom edge of R8 so the hair seems to come down over the forehead. The middle one is 3 sts wide (1 st on each side of the pin) and points down to the bottom of R10. The other two, one on each side of it, are also 3 sts wide (from 2 to 4 sts to the left of the pin, and from 2 to 4 sts to the right) and point down to the bottom of R9. For each triangle, bring the needle out at its point and go back in along the bottom of R8, fanning the stitches side by side until the triangle is solid black. Satin stitch: straight stitches laid close together, so they cover the green.
2. Scar. On your left as you look at the face, between the fringe and the eye, backstitch a short slanted line over R9 and R10: from 7 sts to the left of the pin on R9, down to 5 sts to the left of the pin on R10, just outside the fringe. Then add 3 tiny straight stitches across it, like stitches on a seam.
3. Mouth. With black, make one short straight stitch on R14, from 1 st to the left of the pin to 1 st to the right of it. Keep it snug and small: a tiny, slightly grumpy mouth.
4. Bolts. Pin one bolt on each side of the head, open end against the green, centered between R12 and R13, 7 sts from the pin on each side. That's right on the sides, a little below the eyes. Sew each one on with its grey tail, with 8 small whipstitches all around the open edge, going under both loops of the bolt and into the head. Hide the ends inside.

Pull every thread just snug: tight embroidery puckers the green.

Part 4: Close the head and add the ring

Put the live loop back on your hook.

• R17: (sc, dec) × 6. (12) Top up the stuffing so the bottom is firm and flat.
• R18: dec × 6. (6)

Fasten off, leaving a 6 in (15 cm) tail. Thread it onto the needle and pass it through the front loop of each of the 6 sts, then pull tight to close the hole. Push the needle into the center and out through the back of the head, pull a little so the end sinks inside, and trim.

Add the ring. A key ring with a chain usually ends in a small jump ring. Open it sideways (twist one end toward you and the other away, never pull it apart) with two pairs of flat pliers or your fingernails, slip it through the black loop, and twist it closed the same way, so the ends meet with no gap. If your chain has no jump ring at the end, open the split ring with a fingernail and wind it straight onto the loop, like putting a key on it.

Hold the head up by its ring: it hangs straight from the middle of the flat top, face forward. Give it a few firm tugs. Cotton chain can stretch over time: if your loop gets longer, sew over the chain with a second strand, from the top to the ring and back.

Safety. This keychain has a metal key ring and plastic safety eyes, so it isn't a toy for children under 3. For a little one, leave off the ring and the loop, embroider the eyes with a few black straight stitches instead of safety eyes, and sew the bolts on very securely.

Make it yours — quick variations

Variation	Change from base pattern
Embroidered eyes	Skip the safety eyes. Make each eye with 3 or 4 black straight stitches over one stitch, between R11 and R12.
Bride's look	Work the top and hair band in black, then embroider one white streak up through the hair band with straight stitches.
Rosy cheeks	Add 2 short blush pink straight stitches under each eye, on R13.
Bag charm	Swap the split ring for a lobster clasp so it clips onto a bag handle or a zip.
Halloween duo	Hang it on one ring with my skull keychain for a matching pair.

Troubleshooting the three things that go wrong

The head looks round, not square

The top and bottom edges need their back-loop rounds. Check that R6 and R15 were worked in the back loops only. Then stuff right up under the top, out to its edge ridge, and press the top flat on the table with your palm. Seen from the front, a firm, straight-sided head reads as square.

The eyes look uneven

They went in by eye, not by count. Safety eyes can't come out once the washers click, so check before locking them: go back to the pin and count again, 3 sts on each side, both between R11 and R12.

The bolts flop over

They're sewn on too loosely or too high. Sew all around the open edge, 8 stitches, and pull each one snug. If a bolt still leans, push a tiny tuft of stuffing into it before you sew it.