Crocheted Key Chain Wristlet

I’m embarrassed to admit how many times this has happened to me:  Tired from a long afternoon battling the consumer masses at the grocery store, I load my arms up with as many bags as possible, hoping to reduce the number of trips from the car to the house.  The plan backfires at the door, however, when I realize my keys are in my purse, and I can’t reach them without dropping half the bags on the ground.  Before you know it, my tomatoes and cantaloupe are rolling off the porch, and all because I didn’t have an extra hand for carrying my keys.  (Or is it because I’m too lazy to make two trips to the car?  Nah, we’ll go with that first thought…)

Well — NO MORE!  With my crocheted wristlet, I can carry ALL the bags and still have my keys handy when I reach the door.  Isn’t it awesome?

 

Okay, it’s basically a bracelet crocheted to a key ring, but I’m still excited about it.  I’m confident it will revolutionize my entire shopping experience.

You can have one, too — here’s how:

Gather supplies:  scissors, worsted weight yarn (you don’t need much, so this a good way to use up leftovers from other projects), size G crochet hook (4 mm), key ring, yarn needle.

sc = single crochet, ch = chain stitch, sl st = slip stitch

Row 1:  Ch 5 across.

Row 2:  sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across.  (4 sc total in row)

R0w 3 – 47:  ch 1, turn, sc across (4 sc).

Slip the key ring onto the strap.  I used a 1 in. key ring for this project.

Place ends of strap together and sl st closed.  Fasten off and weave in ends.

Thread yarn needle with length of same color yarn.  Sew strap together just above the key ring  loop.  This keeps the key ring in place so it won’t slide around the bracelet.

You can stop here, or make a flower or another decoration in a contrasting color to add to the wristlet.  When I made mine, I positioned the strap so I could hide the spot where I tied the two ends together with a cute flower.    (I must have been feeling patriotic today, because I decided to go with a red, white and blue color scheme.)

It is important to keep your stitches tight throughout, or your wristlet will be too stretchy.  If you tend to crochet loosely, or if your project seems to have a lot of stretch, try using a smaller hook.

Here’s how I made my flower:

Ch 5, join with sl st to first ch to form ring.  *Ch 2, dc twice into center of ring, ch 2, attach with sl st through center of ring.  Repeat from * four more times to make a five petal flower.  Fasten off, leaving ends to attach flower to wristlet.

For flower center:  Ch 2.  Sc 5 times in second ch from hook.  Sl st to top of first sc to form a circle.  Fasten off, leaving tail to use to attach to center of flower.

That’s it!  Enjoy your new hands free key chain!