This little letter N keychain is a sweet, personal accessory for a bag or a set of keys, and it makes a good gift. It is a flat block letter in warm coral with a crisp outline. Two tiny cream flowers with yellow centers, green leaves and an embroidered stem decorate the front.
The look is soft and cottage-garden, but the construction is tidy and geometric. Dense single crochet keeps the letter firm enough to hold its shape on a key ring.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished keychain measures about 3.8 in (9.7 cm) tall and 3 in (7.6 cm) wide, not including the ring.
You work the letter sideways in one piece, so each row is a vertical column. First you make the left leg. Then you step the diagonal down column by column and build the right leg. A sc border and a slip stitch outline finish the edges. You make the flowers and leaves separately, sew them on, and embroider the stem.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: about 3.8 in (9.7 cm) tall x 3 in (7.6 cm) wide
- Skill level: Easy (confident beginner)
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Sport (#2) cotton
- Hook: 2.75 mm (US C-2)
- Number of pieces: 1 letter, plus 2 flowers and 4 leaves (appliqués)
- Layout: single piece, no joining
- Letter size before border: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall x 2.7 in (6.9 cm) wide
- Border depth: about 0.17 in (0.4 cm) per side
Materials
Use a smooth mercerized cotton or cotton blend in sport weight, with roughly 330 m per 100 g. Cotton shows each stitch clearly and doesn’t stretch much on a key ring. Avoid fuzzy or very stretchy yarns.
Yarn:
- Coral (MC): 8 g, about 26 m
- Cream (A, petals): 3 g, about 10 m
- Yellow (B, flower centers): 1 g, about 3 m
- Olive green (C, leaves and stem): 3 g, about 10 m
These quantities include a small margin for your gauge swatch and longer sewing tails.
Tools:
- 2.75 mm (US C-2) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- 1 in (2.5 cm) gold split ring or key ring
- Stitch markers
- Scissors
- Blocking mat and rust-proof pins
- Spray bottle with water
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch: chain
- sl st: slip stitch
- sc: single crochet
- hdc: half double crochet
- dc: double crochet
- sc2tog: single crochet 2 together
- st(s): stitch(es)
- rep: repeat
- MC: main color
Special stitch (sc2tog across an edge): Insert the hook in the first edge spot, yarn over and pull up a loop. Insert the hook in the next edge spot, yarn over and pull up a loop. Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops. You use this only at the two inner points of the border.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 6 sc and 6 rows = 1 in (2.5 cm) in sc worked flat.
Make a test swatch of 12 sc x 12 rows. It should measure 2 in (5.1 cm) square. The gauge needs to be square because the letter is worked sideways, so both your stitches and your rows set the size.
Checkpoints:
- After Row 5 (left leg): 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall x 0.8 in (2.0 cm) wide
- After Row 11 (diagonal complete): 1.8 in (4.6 cm) wide
- After Row 16 (letter body): 3.5 in (8.9 cm) x 2.7 in (6.9 cm)
- After the border: 3.8 in (9.7 cm) x 3 in (7.6 cm)
A difference of up to 1/8 in (0.3 cm) is fine. If your piece is too big, try a 2.5 mm hook. If it is too small, try a 3.0 mm hook.
The Letter Body
How to read this section: The letter is worked sideways, so each row is one vertical column of the letter. Stitch positions are numbered from 1 (bottom) to 21 (top). You work odd rows upward (bottom to top) and even rows downward (top to bottom). The ch 1 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
Left Leg
With MC, ch 22.
Row 1 (upward): Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. (21 sc) Place a marker at the beginning tail to mark the bottom of the letter.
Rows 2–5: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across. (21 sc per row)
Row 5 ends at the top, at position 21. The left leg is complete and should measure 3.5 in (8.9 cm) x 0.8 in (2.0 cm).
Diagonal
Each diagonal row has 11 sts. To step the band downward, leave stitches unworked at the top and add chain stitches at the bottom.
Row 6 (downward, positions 21–11): Ch 1, turn, sc in first 11 sts, leave remaining 10 sts unworked. (11 sc)
Row 7 (upward, positions 7–17): Turn, ch 5, sc in 2nd ch from hook and next 3 ch (4 sc), sc in next 7 sts, leave remaining 4 sts unworked. (11 sc)
Row 8 (downward, positions 17–7): Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across. (11 sc)
Row 9 (upward, positions 3–13): Turn, ch 5, sc in 2nd ch from hook and next 3 ch (4 sc), sc in next 7 sts, leave remaining 4 sts unworked. (11 sc)
Row 10 (downward, positions 13–3): Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across. (11 sc)
Row 11 (upward, positions 1–11): Turn, ch 3, sc in 2nd ch from hook and next ch (2 sc), sc in next 9 sts, leave remaining 2 sts unworked. (11 sc)
The diagonal now runs from the top of the left leg down to the bottom edge of the letter. The piece should measure about 1.8 in (4.6 cm) wide.
Right Leg
Row 12 (downward, positions 21–1): Turn, ch 11, sc in 2nd ch from hook and next 9 ch (10 sc), sc in next 11 sts. (21 sc)
Rows 13–16: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across. (21 sc per row)
Row 16 ends at the bottom, at position 1. Do not fasten off.
Check the orientation: Lay the piece with Row 1 on your left and the beginning tail at the bottom. The front is the side where Row 16 sits on your right. From the front, the diagonal runs from top-left to bottom-right. Sew the flowers to this side.
Checkpoint: The letter body measures 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall x 2.7 in (6.9 cm) wide. The notches above and below the diagonal should both have neat stair-step edges.
Border
Border gauge: You work the border at the same 6 sts per 1 in (2.5 cm). Because your stitch gauge and row gauge match, 1 sc in each stitch and 1 sc in each row-end will lie flat on every edge.
Work clockwise around the front of the letter. Put 1 sc in every edge spot unless the pattern says otherwise. A “row-end” is the side of the last stitch in a row.
Round 1 (sc border)
Sl st to move the hook to the bottom-left corner, which is the free loop of the first foundation ch at position 1. Ch 1 and work:
- Left edge (free loops of foundation ch, 21 spots): 3 sc in first ch, sc in next 19 ch, 3 sc in last ch. (25 sc)
- Top of left leg (row-ends of Rows 1–6): sc in row-ends of Rows 1–5, 3 sc in row-end of Row 6. (8 sc)
- Upper diagonal edge: sc in 4 unworked sts of Row 6, row-ends of Rows 7–8, 4 unworked sts of Row 8, row-ends of Rows 9–10, 2 unworked sts of Row 10. (14 sc)
- Top inner point: sc2tog over the row-end of Row 11 and the first free ch loop of Row 12. (1 sc)
- Inner edge of right leg (remaining 9 free ch loops of Row 12): sc in next 8, 3 sc in last. (11 sc)
- Top of right leg: sc in row-ends of Rows 12–16. (5 sc)
- Right edge (sts of Row 16, 21 spots): 3 sc in first st, sc in next 19, 3 sc in last. (25 sc)
- Bottom of right leg (row-ends of Rows 16–11): sc in row-ends of Rows 16–12, 3 sc in row-end of Row 11. (8 sc)
- Lower diagonal edge: sc in 2 free ch loops of Row 11, row-ends of Rows 10–9, 4 free ch loops of Row 9, row-ends of Rows 8–7, 4 free ch loops of Row 7. (14 sc)
- Bottom inner point: sc2tog over the row-end of Row 6 and the first unworked st of Row 5. (1 sc)
- Inner edge of left leg (remaining 9 unworked sts of Row 5): sc in next 8, 3 sc in last. (11 sc)
- Bottom of left leg: sc in row-ends of Rows 5–1. (5 sc)
Sl st to the first sc to join. (128 sc)
Why the math works: The outline has 114 edge spots. The first half has 21 + 6 + 14 + 2 + 9 + 5 = 57, and the second half has the same 57.
- Each of the 114 spots gets 1 sc.
- Each of the 8 outer corners gets 2 extra sc (+16).
- At each of the 2 inner points, 2 spots become 1 stitch (−2).
So 114 + 16 − 2 = 128. The stair-step corners on the diagonal edges need no increases or decreases because each outward step is balanced by an inward step.
Round 2 (outline)
Ch 1, sl st loosely in each sc around. (128 sl st: 128 worked 1 per st + 0 added) Join with a sl st to the first sl st and fasten off, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
This round makes the raised, crisp outline. Keep it loose enough that the edges don’t curl.
Hanging Loop
Join MC in the center sc of the top-left corner. Ch 6, sl st in the same st. Fasten off and weave in the ends. The loop should be about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) long. Thread it onto the split ring.
Checkpoint: The letter now measures 3.8 in (9.7 cm) x 3 in (7.6 cm).
Flowers (Make 2)
Round 1: With B (yellow), make a magic ring, 5 sc in ring, sl st to first sc to join. (5 sc) Pull the ring closed and fasten off.
Round 2: Join A (cream) in any sc. *(Sl st, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, sl st) in the same sc, move to next sc; rep from * 4 more times. (5 petals) Fasten off, leaving an 8 in (20.3 cm) tail for sewing.
Each flower measures about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) across. Shape the petals with your fingers so they look rounded.
Leaves (Make 4)
With C (green), ch 6.
Sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch. (5 sts) Ch 1. Rotate and work along the other side of the foundation chain: sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc. (5 sts) Sl st to the first sc. (10 sts + tip ch)
Fasten off, leaving an 8 in (20.3 cm) tail. Each leaf measures about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) long. The foundation chain forms the center ridge.
Assembly
- Upper flower: Center it on the right leg, about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) below the top edge. Sew around the yellow center and under each petal tip.
- Stem: With C and a tapestry needle, embroider a chain-stitch stem about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) long. Run it diagonally down-left from the flower across the diagonal stroke.
- Upper leaves: Sew one leaf beside the flower, pointing up-left. Sew two leaves along the stem, one on each side.
- Lower flower: Center it on the left leg, about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) above the bottom edge. Tuck the last leaf behind its upper-right petals, pointing up-right, and sew both in place.
Sew only through the front part of the fabric so the stitches don’t show on the back. Weave in all tails.
Final Blocking
- Mist the keychain lightly with water until it is damp but not soaked.
- Pin it face up on a blocking mat at 3.8 in (9.7 cm) x 3 in (7.6 cm).
- Pin the 4 outer corners first, then straighten the legs.
- Square the inner notches with your fingertips so the steps look crisp.
- Don’t pin through the flowers. Press the petals flat gently by hand.
- Let it dry completely, for at least 12 hours.
- Unpin it and check the measurements again.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- From the front, the letter reads as “N” and is not mirrored
- Body measures 3.5 in (8.9 cm) x 2.7 in (6.9 cm) before the border
- Rows 1–5 and 12–16 have 21 sc; Rows 6–11 have 11 sc
- Round 1 has 128 sc; Round 2 has 128 sl st
- Finished size is 3.8 in (9.7 cm) x 3 in (7.6 cm)
- Edges lie flat, with no ruffling or cupping
- Both flowers and all 4 leaves are secure
- The hanging loop is firmly attached and holds the ring
- All tails are woven in on the back
Troubleshooting
The diagonal looks jagged. Steps are normal before the border. Make sure you work 1 sc in every step spot in Round 1. Blocking will even them out.
The letter came out mirrored. You are looking at the back. Flip it over and sew the flowers on the correct side.
The border ruffles. The border is looser than the body. Use a smaller hook for Round 1, and check that you didn’t add extra sc on the stair steps.
The border cups or pulls in. The border is too tight. Go up one hook size for the border only, and keep the sl st outline relaxed.
The inner points gape. Check that you used sc2tog at both inner points, and pull the yarn snug there.
The letter feels floppy. Your gauge is too loose. Go down one hook size and remake the body.
Care
Hand wash gently in cool water and lay flat to dry. Don’t leave the metal ring soaking for long.
Final Notes
Every measurement in this pattern follows from your gauge. A square gauge of 6 sc and 6 rows per 1 in (2.5 cm) gives a letter body of 21 stitches x 16 rows, which measures 3.5 in (8.9 cm) x 2.7 in (6.9 cm). The border round has 128 sc over 114 edge spots and adds about 0.17 in (0.4 cm) per side. That gives a finished keychain of 3.8 in (9.7 cm) x 3 in (7.6 cm).
Check your gauge first and count your stitches after each row, and the letter will come out square and sturdy.
Happy crocheting!