Crochet Flower Keychain Pattern

I love a flower with petals you can squeeze between your fingers. This crochet flower keychain is about 4 in (10 cm) across, with five soft pink petals, a rounded yellow center and one green leaf tucked behind the top. The little pink loop lifts it from the upper petal, so the flower hangs face forward.

Each petal starts at its rounded tip and narrows toward the middle. I keep the filling soft, then sew the narrow ends around a pink backing disc. The yellow center covers those joins like a little cushion, and the leaf adds a small flash of green beside the loop.

At a glance
Flower	about 4 in (10 cm) across, excluding loop and ring
Leaf	about 1¼ in (3 cm) long
Yarn	DK #3 cotton: soft pink, sunflower yellow and leaf green
Hook	2.5 mm throughout
Pieces	9
Time	about 2–3 hours
Skill	easy: magic ring, sc, increases, decreases, one chain-based leaf and sewing

Cotton scraps for a pink flower keychain

I like smooth cotton for this flower. The stitches stay crisp around the yellow middle, while a small pinch of filling makes each pink petal soft.

• Yarn: 100% cotton, DK #3, about 125 m (137 yd) per 50 g. Allow about 35 yd soft pink, 7 yd sunflower yellow and 2 yd leaf green, including sewing ends.
• Hook: 2.5 mm for every piece.
• Hardware: one smooth 1¼ in (32 mm) metal split key ring.
• Small things: fiberfill, a tapestry needle, sewing pins, scissors, stitch markers and a strand of contrast scrap yarn.

Tension. Use about 6 sc per inch (2.5 cm), with about 6 rounds per inch in the plain sc sections. Keep the stitches snug enough that the filling stays inside. The widest part of a petal should be about 1 in (2.5 cm) across. The flower's final spread depends a little on how firmly you fill and arrange the petals.

Safety. With its metal key ring, this flower is an accessory for adults and older children, not a toy for children under 3. Keep the ring and the sewn attachments secure.

Stitches for the petals, center and leaf

US terms: MR = magic ring; ch = chain; sl st = slip stitch; sc = single crochet; hdc = half double crochet; dc = double crochet; inc = 2 sc in one stitch; dec = single crochet two stitches together. R means round; st means stitch.

Work the petals, backing and yellow center in continuous spirals, with a marker in the first stitch of every round. Move it up as you go. The leaf is worked around both sides of a chain, then joined. The hanging strip is one flat row. Numbers in parentheses give the stitch count; the leaf count includes its two tip chains.

Part 1 — The five rounded pink petals

Petals

Soft pink, 2.5 mm hook, Make 5. The magic ring becomes the rounded outer tip. The final round is the narrow root that goes under the yellow center.

• R1: MR, 6 sc in the ring. (6)
• R2: inc × 6. (12)
• R3: (sc, inc) × 6. (18)
• R4–R6: sc around. (18) 3 rounds.
• R7: (sc, dec) × 6. (12)

After R7, add a small pinch of filling. Push it toward the rounded tip, then press the petal gently flat. Keep the little root soft enough to pinch flat between your fingers.

• R8: dec × 6. (6)

Sl st in the next st and fasten off, leaving a 12 in (30 cm) tail at the root. Flatten the root so the six stitches lie in two layers of three. With the tail on the needle, sew through each of the three matching stitch pairs once to close it. Keep the rest of the tail for attaching the petal.

Tip. A petal should feel like a tiny pillow. If it turns into a firm ball, pull out a little filling before R8 and flatten it again.

Set the petals beside each other with their sewn roots pointing toward you. Their rounded tips should be about the same size.

The yellow flower center and its backing

Pink backing disc

Soft pink, 2.5 mm hook, Make 1. The magic ring is the middle of the back of the flower. The final round is the edge where the petal roots and yellow center will be sewn.

• R1: MR, 6 sc in the ring. (6)
• R2: inc × 6. (12)
• R3: (sc, inc) × 6. (18)
• R4: (sc 2, inc) × 6. (24)
• R5: (sc 3, inc) × 6. (30)

Sl st in the next st and fasten off, leaving a 12 in (30 cm) tail at the edge. Pull the starting ring closed and weave its short tail into the back. Keep the disc flat and unstuffed.

Lay it with the side that will meet the yellow center facing you. Mark stitch 3 of R5 as the top of the flower. Beginning at stitch 1, place another marker after each group of six stitches. The five groups run 1–6, 7–12, 13–18, 19–24 and 25–30. Turn the disc over if needed so group 7–12 lies to the upper right of the top marker when you look at the side that will meet the yellow center. Keep that top marker in place through assembly.

Yellow center

Sunflower yellow, 2.5 mm hook, Make 1. The magic ring is the middle of the visible yellow face; the last round is its open back edge.

• R1: MR, 6 sc in the ring. (6)
• R2: inc × 6. (12)
• R3: (sc, inc) × 6. (18)
• R4: (sc 2, inc) × 6. (24)
• R5: (sc 3, inc) × 6. (30)
• R6: sc around. (30)

Sl st in the next st and fasten off, leaving a 24 in (60 cm) tail at the open edge. Pull the starting ring closed and weave its short tail into the inside. Leave the center empty for now; its filling goes in as you sew it to the backing.

A pointed green leaf behind the petals

Leaf

Leaf green, 2.5 mm hook, Make 1. Ch 7, leaving a 6 in (15 cm) starting tail. The end beside that tail becomes the leaf base. Work along the chain toward its tip, then back along the unused loops on the other side.

• R1: sc in the 2nd ch from the hook, hdc in the next ch, dc in each of the next 2 ch, hdc in the next ch, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the last ch, then along the other side of the chain, hdc in the next ch, dc in each of the next 2 ch, hdc in the next ch and sc in the last ch. (14)

The count is 12 stitches plus the 2 chains at the pointed tip. Sl st in the first sc and fasten off, leaving a 12 in (30 cm) tail at the base. Weave the short starting tail along the back of the leaf. Leave the leaf flat and pinch its ch-2 tip into a little point.

Sewing the flower so the petals sit evenly

Keep the backing's marked stitch 3 at the top. Hold each petal with its sewn root toward the disc and its rounded magic-ring tip pointing outward. The side of the backing facing you will sit under the yellow center.

1. Top petal. Lay its three-pair root against stitches 2, 3 and 4 of backing R5, with the petal pointing straight up. With its pink tail, sew one root pair to each of those three disc stitches. Go over that line four times in total, making 12 small attachment stitches. Keep the soft tip full and the root flat.
2. Remaining petals. Working around R5 in its stitch direction, attach the other roots to stitches 8–10, 14–16, 20–22 and 26–28. Sew each three-stitch line twice, six attachment stitches per petal. Fan the petals outward into an even five-petal flower, with a small dip between neighboring tips.
3. Leaf. Turn the flower over so the back faces you. Pin the leaf base just behind the gap between the top petal and the next petal on your right when viewed from the front. Its base sits behind backing R5 stitches 5 and 6, and its pointed tip extends outward beyond the pink petals. With green, take six small stitches through the leaf base and the backs of those two disc stitches. Knot and hide the tail on the back.
4. Cover the roots. Turn the flower face up again. Set the yellow center over the disc, its magic ring facing you and open R6 edge against backing R5. Match their 30 stitches. With the yellow tail, whipstitch one pair at a time around all 30 pairs, catching the flattened pink roots where they cross the seam.
5. Fill the yellow center. After sewing 24 of the 30 pairs, push a small pinch of filling into the center through the remaining gap. Smooth it into a shallow rounded cushion. Sew the final six pairs and bury the tail inside.

Weave the remaining pink petal tails into the backing and hide the disc tail along the back. Remove the group markers, keeping the top marker until the hanging strip is attached. Turn the flower toward you and gently spread its petals with your fingers.

Tip. Before you sew the yellow center down, set it on the roots and look from arm's length. Nudge the petals apart while their roots are still easy to reach.

Adding a reinforced pink loop and key ring

Hanging strip

Soft pink, 2.5 mm hook, Make 1. Leave an 18 in (46 cm) starting tail and ch 13.

• Row 1: sc in the back bump of the 2nd ch from the hook and in each remaining back bump across. (12)

Fasten off, leaving a second 18 in (46 cm) tail. Keep the strip flat and unstuffed. Thread one end through the split key ring and fold the strip in half, with its first and last stitches side by side at the bottom. The metal ring sits in the fold at the top.

Lay the two strip ends together on the back of the top petal, running from its tip down toward the yellow center. Overlap the petal through R2–R5, with the strip centered down the middle of the petal's back. Pin it there before sewing. The fold and ring extend above the rounded tip.

With one tail, take 12 small stitches through both strip ends and deeply into the petal fabric across R2–R5. Spread those stitches across the little patch so the cotton stays smooth. Use the other tail to sew the sides of the overlapping strip ends down, four stitches along each side. Knot securely and bury both tails inside the petal.

Remove the top marker and hold the flower up by its ring. Give the loop a gentle tug. If the cotton starts to stretch or an end shifts, add more small stitches across the attachment patch before using it on a bag.

A little flower for your everyday bag

I like this soft pink flower against a navy canvas bag, where the yellow center really shows. The single green leaf should peek out beside the upper petals, with the flower hanging from its top petal and the smooth pink backing facing the bag.

Keep the same stitch counts for a cream flower or a lilac one, using the same DK cotton and hook. For a flatter flower to clip beside it, the cherry blossom keychain has little notches in its petals.

Spot-clean with a barely damp cloth and let the flower dry flat. Keep the metal ring dry and check the hanging stitches from time to time, especially if the flower gets pulled while you reach for your keys.

UK terms: US sc = UK dc; US hdc = UK htr; US dc = UK tr; US sl st = UK ss.

Made a puffy pink flower? Tag #wavodecrochet on Pinterest so I can see which bag it's brightening.