This little letter F keychain is made in soft dusty blue cotton with an open, lacy texture. Rows of paired clusters stack on top of each other to form small bowtie shapes. A neat, rope-like crab stitch edge frames the whole letter.
Two white five-petal flowers with yellow centers and three small green leaves are sewn near the bottom of the stem. A gold split key ring hangs from the top-left corner, so the letter clips easily onto a tote handle, a backpack or a set of keys.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished letter measures about 4.65 in (11.8 cm) tall and 3.33 in (8.5 cm) wide, not counting the ring.
You crochet the F as one flat piece, in rows from the bottom up. The arms are added with chains at the ends of rows, so the main shape needs no sewing. Two rounds of border then follow the full outline. The flowers and leaves are made separately and stitched on at the end.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 4.65 in (11.8 cm) tall x 3.33 in (8.5 cm) wide
- Skill level: Easy-Intermediate
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Sport (CYC 2), mercerized cotton
- Hook: 2.75 mm (US C-2)
- Number of pieces: 1 letter, plus 2 flowers and 3 leaves sewn on as appliqués
- Layout: One letter F, with the stem on the left and a long top arm and a shorter middle arm pointing right
- Piece size before border: 4.15 in (10.5 cm) tall x 2.83 in (7.2 cm) wide
- Stem width before border: 0.83 in (2.1 cm)
- Border depth: 0.25 in (0.6 cm) on every edge, 2 rounds
Materials
Choose a smooth, mercerized sport-weight cotton. It shows the cluster lace clearly, holds its shape on a keychain and resists pilling. Avoid fuzzy yarn or yarn that splits easily, because the crab stitch edge needs clean, round stitches.
- Dusty blue (main color): 10 g, about 35 m
- White (petals): 3 g, about 10 m
- Yellow (flower centers): 1 g, about 3 m
- Sage green (leaves): 2 g, about 6 m
All quantities include extra yarn for a gauge swatch and for weaving in ends.
Tools:
- 2.75 mm (US C-2) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Gold split key ring, about 1.2 in (3.0 cm) across
- Gold jump ring, about 0.3 in (0.8 cm) across, and two pairs of flat-nose pliers
- Stitch markers
- Blocking board and rust-proof pins
- Scissors and a ruler
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
- rev sc – reverse single crochet (crab stitch)
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
Special stitches:
- cl (2-dc cluster): [Yarn over, insert hook in stitch, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops] twice in the same stitch, then yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.
- V-cl (cluster V): (cl, ch 1, cl) in the same stitch.
- rev sc: Working from left to right, insert hook in the next stitch to the right, pull up a loop, yarn over, and pull through both loops.
In stitch counts, each ch-1 sp counts as 1 stitch and the turning ch-3 counts as 1 dc.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 6 sts = 1 in (2.5 cm) in pattern. One pattern repeat (1 cluster row + 1 sc row) = 0.5 in (1.3 cm) tall. A single sc row is about 0.15 in (0.4 cm) tall and a cluster row is about 0.35 in (0.9 cm).
Make a test swatch first. Ch 14. Work Row 1 as written below (13 sc), then repeat Rows 2–3 four times. The swatch should measure 2.17 in (5.5 cm) wide and 2.15 in (5.5 cm) tall.
- Too big: go down to a 2.5 mm hook.
- Too small: go up to a 3.0 mm hook.
- Width is right but height is off: check how tall your clusters are. Pull the first loop of each cluster up to the height of the turning ch-3.
Checkpoints on the letter:
- After Row 1: 0.83 in (2.1 cm) wide
- After Row 8: 0.83 in (2.1 cm) wide, 2.0 in (5.1 cm) tall
- After Row 11: 2.17 in (5.5 cm) wide across the middle arm, 2.65 in (6.7 cm) tall
- After Row 17: 2.83 in (7.2 cm) wide across the top arm, 4.15 in (10.5 cm) tall
- After the border: 3.33 in (8.5 cm) wide, 4.65 in (11.8 cm) tall
Letter F
Work in dusty blue. The whole letter uses just the two row types below.
Cluster row (worked over 4n + 1 sts): Ch 3 (counts as dc), *skip 1 st, V-cl in next st, skip 1 st, dc in next st; repeat from * across. Each 4-stitch repeat gives a cl, a ch-1 sp, a cl and a dc, so the stitch count does not change.
Sc row: Ch 1, sc in first dc, *sc in next cl, sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next cl, sc in next dc; repeat from * across, working the last sc in the top of the turning ch-3. The stitch count does not change.
Each V-cl sits directly above the V-cl two rows below it. The clusters line up in columns and form the bowtie lace.
Lower Stem
Foundation: Ch 6.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, turn. (5 sts)
Row 2: Cluster row, turn. (5 sts: 1 V-cl between 2 dc)
Row 3: Sc row, turn. (5 sts)
Rows 4–7: Repeat Rows 2–3 twice. (5 sts)
Row 8: Cluster row. Do not turn yet. (5 sts)
Lay the piece so Row 8 ends on your right. That edge becomes the right edge of the stem, and the arms grow from it.
Middle Arm
Row 9: Ch 9, turn. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 7 ch, then work the sc row across the 5 stem sts. (13 sts: 8 sc on the chain + 5 sc on the stem)
Row 10: Cluster row, turn. (13 sts: 3 V-cl)
Row 11: Sc row, turn. (13 sts)
Checkpoint: 2.17 in (5.5 cm) wide and 2.65 in (6.7 cm) tall.
Gap Between the Arms
Row 12: Ch 3 (counts as dc), skip 1 st, V-cl in next st, skip 1 st, dc in next st, turn. Leave the other 8 sts of the middle arm unworked. (5 sts)
Row 13: Sc row, turn. (5 sts)
Row 14: Cluster row. Do not turn. (5 sts)
Top Arm
Row 15: Ch 13, turn. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 11 ch, then work the sc row across the 5 stem sts. (17 sts: 12 sc on the chain + 5 sc on the stem)
Row 16: Cluster row, turn. (17 sts: 4 V-cl)
Row 17: Sc row. Do not turn and do not fasten off. (17 sts)
You are now at the top-left corner. Checkpoint: 2.83 in (7.2 cm) wide and 4.15 in (10.5 cm) tall.
Border
Border gauge: About 6 sc per 1 in (2.5 cm) on every edge. Work 1 sc in each stitch or foundation chain and 1 sc in each sc-row end. Work 2 sc in each cluster-row end, around the post of the end dc or ch-3.
Round 1 (single crochet)
Ch 1 for the top-left corner sp, then turn the piece to work down the left edge. Work the sides in this order, with ch 1 at every outer corner:
- Left edge, Rows 17–1: 25 sc (9 sc-row ends x 1 + 8 cluster-row ends x 2). Ch 1.
- Bottom edge, along the foundation ch: 5 sc. Ch 1.
- Right edge of the lower stem, Rows 1–8: 11 sc, then sc2tog over the last row end and the first ch on the underside of the middle arm. (12 sts)
- Middle arm underside: 7 sc in the remaining chains. Ch 1.
- Middle arm tip, Rows 9–11: 4 sc (1 + 2 + 1). Ch 1.
- Middle arm top, along the 8 unworked sts of Row 11: 7 sc, then sc2tog over the last st and the first row end of Row 12. (8 sts)
- Right edge between the arms, Rows 12–14: 3 sc, then sc2tog over the last row end and the first ch on the underside of the top arm. (4 sts)
- Top arm underside: 11 sc in the remaining chains. Ch 1.
- Top arm tip, Rows 15–17: 4 sc (1 + 2 + 1). Ch 1.
- Top edge, along Row 17: 17 sc.
Join with sl st to the first sc. (97 sc + 7 corner ch-1 sps)
Check the total: 25 + 5 + 12 + 7 + 4 + 8 + 4 + 11 + 4 + 17 = 97.
Round 2 (crab stitch)
Ch 1 and do not turn. Working from left to right, rev sc in each sc and each sc2tog, and work 2 rev sc in each corner ch-1 sp. Join with sl st to the first rev sc and fasten off. (97 + 14 = 111 rev sc)
Why the Math Works
The lace pattern works out to 6 sts per inch, and the row heights match the border spacing. An sc row is about 0.15 in (0.4 cm) tall and takes 1 sc. A cluster row is about 0.35 in (0.9 cm) tall and takes 2 sc. Every edge gets close to 6 sc per inch, so nothing ruffles or pulls in.
Each of the 7 outer corners gets a ch-1 sp in Round 1 and 2 rev sc in Round 2, so the corner turns smoothly. Each of the 3 inner corners loses one stitch through sc2tog, which keeps it from bunching. The border adds 0.25 in (0.6 cm) on every side: 4.15 + 0.5 = 4.65 in (11.8 cm) tall and 2.83 + 0.5 = 3.33 in (8.5 cm) wide.
Flowers (make 2)
Round 1: With yellow, make a magic ring, ch 1, 5 sc in ring, then join with sl st to the first sc. Pull the ring closed and fasten off. (5 sc)
Round 2: Join white in any sc. *(Ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, sl st) in the same st, sl st in next st; repeat from * 4 more times, working the last sl st in the joining st. (5 petals)
Fasten off, leaving a 10 in (25.4 cm) tail. Each flower measures about 0.7 in (1.8 cm) across.
Leaves (make 3)
With sage green, ch 6.
Round 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, then (sc, ch 2, sc) in the last ch to make the tip. Working along the other side of the chain: hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, sc in next ch, then sl st in the end ch. (11 sts + 1 ch-2 tip)
Fasten off, leaving an 8 in (20.3 cm) tail. Each leaf is about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) long.
Assembly
Block the letter first (see below), then add the appliqués.
- Lay the letter right side up with the arms pointing right.
- Place the lower flower near the bottom of the stem, about 0.4 in (1.0 cm) above the bottom edge and a little toward the right edge of the stem.
- Place the upper flower above it and to the left. It should overlap the lower flower slightly and stick out a little past the left border.
- Tuck the leaves under the petals: one above and to the left of the upper flower, one to the right of the lower flower, and one below and to the left of the lower flower.
- Sew the leaves first with small stitches through the base of each leaf. Then sew each flower down around its yellow center and at each petal tip.
- Open the jump ring with pliers and slip it through the top-left corner of the border. Add the split key ring, then close the jump ring fully.
Final Blocking
- Spray the letter with water until it is damp but not soaked.
- Pin it flat on the blocking board with the arms pointing right.
- Pin the 7 outer corners first so they stay square.
- Check the size: 4.65 in (11.8 cm) tall and 3.33 in (8.5 cm) wide.
- Use your fingers to straighten each cluster column so the bowtie openings line up.
- Let it dry completely, for at least a few hours, before you remove the pins.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- The stem has 1 column of V-clusters, the middle arm has 3 and the top arm has 4.
- Round 1 of the border has 97 sc and 7 corner ch-1 sps.
- Round 2 of the border has 111 rev sc.
- The inner corners lie flat and the outer corners are square.
- The finished letter is 4.65 in (11.8 cm) x 3.33 in (8.5 cm).
- The flowers and leaves are secure, with no yarn tails showing on the front.
- The jump ring is fully closed and the key ring turns freely.
Troubleshooting
- Clusters lean or don’t line up: each V-cl should go into the center sc of the 3 sc worked over the V-cl below it.
- An arm is too long or too short: count your chains. The middle arm needs ch 9 and the top arm needs ch 13.
- Edge ruffles: you’ve added stitches along the row ends. Recheck that you have 1 sc per sc row and 2 sc per cluster row.
- Edge pulls in: use a hook one size larger for the border only.
- Inner corners bunch up: make sure you worked an sc2tog at each of the 3 inner corners.
- Crab stitch looks loose: keep the loops short and work slowly.
- Petals are uneven: keep every ch-2 at the same tension and pull the magic ring tight.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap and lay flat to dry. Take off the metal rings first if they might tarnish.
Final Notes
Each measurement builds on the one before it. A 13-stitch swatch 2.17 in (5.5 cm) wide confirms the gauge of 6 stitches per inch. That gauge gives a stem 0.83 in (2.1 cm) wide and a letter 2.83 in (7.2 cm) wide and 4.15 in (10.5 cm) tall before the border. A crab stitch edge 0.25 in (0.6 cm) deep brings the finished keychain to 3.33 in (8.5 cm) by 4.65 in (11.8 cm). Sew on the daisies, clip on the ring, and it’s ready to use.
Happy crocheting!