This little keychain is a chunky capital letter E in soft butter yellow. Puff stitches cover the whole letter: a column of puffs runs up the spine, and each of the three arms is a single row of puffs. A crisp single crochet outline with a slip-stitch finish frames the shape. Three lilac five-petal flowers with cream centers sit along the spine, each with a small sage green leaf tucked under it.
The finished charm hangs from a gold split ring by a short chain. It’s quick to make, uses only a few grams of yarn, and clips onto a bag handle, pencil case, or set of keys. It works well as a personalized gift for anyone whose name starts with E.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished letter measures 2.7 in (6.9 cm) wide and 3.6 in (9.1 cm) tall, not counting the hardware.
The letter is worked flat in turned rows from the bottom arm up. The spine and arms are built by leaving stitches unworked and adding short chains, so the letter is one continuous piece. A two-round border follows, then a hanging loop. The flowers and leaves are made separately and sewn on.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 2.7 in (6.9 cm) wide x 3.6 in (9.1 cm) tall, plus hardware
- Skill level: Advanced beginner
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: DK / light worsted (#3), cotton or cotton blend
- Hook: 3.5 mm (E-4)
- Number of pieces: 1 letter, plus 3 flowers and 3 leaves sewn on as appliqués
- Layout: Single charm; the flowers are stacked down the spine
- Piece size before border: 2.4 in (6.1 cm) wide x 3.3 in (8.4 cm) tall
- Border depth: 0.15 in (0.4 cm) per side
- Appliqué sizes: Flowers 0.8 in (2.0 cm) across; leaves 0.7 in (1.8 cm) long
Materials
Use a smooth DK cotton with good stitch definition. Mercerized cotton shows the puffs clearly and holds the letter’s shape on a keychain. Avoid fuzzy or splitty yarns, because they hide the stitches and make the puffs hard to count.
- Butter yellow (main): 8 g / 17 m
- Lilac (petals): 3 g / 6 m
- Cream (flower centers): 1 g / 2 m
- Sage green (leaves): 2 g / 4 m
All quantities include a margin for a gauge swatch, sewing tails, and small differences in tension.
Tools:
- 3.5 mm (E-4) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
- 2 locking stitch markers
- Gold keychain set: 1 in (2.5 cm) split ring with a short chain about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) long
- One 6 mm gold jump ring
- 2 pairs of flat-nose pliers
- Rustproof pins, a blocking mat, and a spray bottle
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)
- RS / WS – right side / wrong side
Puff stitch (puff): (Yarn over, insert hook in the stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop to about 0.25 in / 0.6 cm) 3 times, so you have 7 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 7 loops. Each puff counts as 1 stitch.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: Rows 1–3 of the letter (11 sts; sc row, puff row, sc row) = 2.4 in (6.1 cm) wide x 0.6 in (1.5 cm) tall.
Use Rows 1–3 as your test swatch. If they measure correctly, keep going with the same piece, since they’re also the bottom arm.
Measurement checkpoints:
- After Row 3: 2.4 in (6.1 cm) wide x 0.6 in (1.5 cm) tall
- Spine (3 sts): 0.65 in (1.7 cm) wide
- After Row 9: 1.95 in (5.0 cm) tall; middle arm 2.0 in (5.1 cm) long
- After Row 15: 2.4 in (6.1 cm) x 3.3 in (8.4 cm)
- After the border: 2.7 in (6.9 cm) x 3.6 in (9.1 cm)
If your swatch is too big, switch to a 3.25 mm hook. If it’s too small, switch to a 3.75 mm hook. If only the height is off, change how tall you pull up the puff loops instead of changing hooks.
Letter E
Puffs bulge toward the side facing away from you. Every puff row in this pattern is a WS row, so the puffs pop out on the RS. Row 1 is a RS row.
The spine edge of the letter is the edge where the foundation tail hangs. Count stitches starting from that edge.
Bottom arm
Row 1 (RS): With yellow, ch 12. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn. (11 sc)
Row 2 (WS): Ch 1, sc in first st, *puff in next st, sc in next st; repeat from * 4 more times. Turn. (11 sts: 5 puffs, 6 sc)
Row 3: Ch 1, sc in each st across, working into the top of each puff. Turn. (11 sc) The yarn is now at the spine edge.
Lower spine
Row 4: Ch 1, sc in first st, puff in next st, sc in next st. Leave the remaining 8 sts unworked. Turn. (3 sts: 1 puff, 2 sc)
Row 5: Ch 1, sc in each of the 3 sts. Turn. (3 sc)
Row 6: Ch 1, sc in first st, puff in next st, sc in next st, then ch 7 for the middle arm. Turn. (3 sts + 7 ch)
Middle arm
Row 7: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in the next 5 ch, then sc in each of the 3 spine sts. Turn. (9 sc)
Row 8: Ch 1, sc in first st, *puff in next st, sc in next st; repeat from * 3 more times. Turn. (9 sts: 4 puffs, 5 sc)
Row 9: Ch 1, sc in each st across. Turn. (9 sc)
Upper spine
Row 10: Ch 1, sc in first st, puff in next st, sc in next st. Leave the remaining 6 sts unworked. Turn. (3 sts)
Row 11: Ch 1, sc in each of the 3 sts. Turn. (3 sc)
Row 12: Ch 1, sc in first st, puff in next st, sc in next st, then ch 9 for the top arm. Turn. (3 sts + 9 ch)
Top arm
Row 13: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in the next 7 ch, then sc in each of the 3 spine sts. Turn. (11 sc)
Row 14: Ch 1, sc in first st, *puff in next st, sc in next st; repeat from * 4 more times. Turn. (11 sts: 5 puffs, 6 sc)
Row 15 (RS): Ch 1, sc in each st across. Don’t turn and don’t fasten off. (11 sc)
The puffs at position 2 in every puff row line up into a 7-puff column on the spine. Two spine puffs sit between each pair of arms.
Border
Border gauge: 1 sc per stitch along the horizontal edges and 1 sc per row-end along the vertical edges.
Number the foundation chain bottom loops f1 (at the spine) to f11 (at the tip). Number the bottom loops of the Row 6 chain m1 (next to the spine) to m6, and those of the Row 12 chain c1 to c8. Each arm tip has 1 more chain, which was skipped.
Round 1 (RS): Ch 1. Work 2 sc in the last st of Row 15, which is the top-left corner. Then work as follows:
- Outer spine: 1 sc in the end of each row from Row 14 down to Row 2 (13 sc)
- Bottom-left corner: 3 sc in f1
- Bottom edge: sc in f2 through f10 (9 sc)
- Corner: 3 sc in f11
- Bottom arm tip: 1 sc in the end of Row 2
- Corner: 3 sc in st 11 of Row 3
- Top of bottom arm: sc in sts 10 through 6, then sc2tog over sts 5 and 4 (6 sts)
- Inner spine: 1 sc in the end of Rows 4, 5, and 6 (3 sc)
- Underside of middle arm: sc2tog over m1 and m2, then sc in m3 through m5 (4 sts)
- Corner: 3 sc in m6
- Middle arm tip: 1 sc in the end of Row 8
- Corner: 3 sc in st 9 of Row 9
- Top of middle arm: sc in sts 8 through 6, then sc2tog over sts 5 and 4 (4 sts)
- Inner spine: 1 sc in the end of Rows 10, 11, and 12 (3 sc)
- Underside of top arm: sc2tog over c1 and c2, then sc in c3 through c7 (6 sts)
- Corner: 3 sc in c8
- Top arm tip: 1 sc in the end of Row 14
- Corner: 3 sc in st 11 of Row 15
- Top edge: sc in sts 10 through 2 (9 sc)
- Finish: 1 sc in st 1, the same st you started in, to complete that corner’s 3 sc
Sl st to the first sc. (84 sts)
Check the total: 2 + 13 + 3 + 9 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 6 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 4 + 3 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 9 + 1 = 84.
Round 2: Don’t turn. Sl st loosely in each st around, then join to the first sl st. (84 sl st) This creates the braided chain look along the outer edge.
Hanging loop: Ch 6, then sl st in the same st as the join, which is the top-left corner. This makes a loop about 0.4 in (1.0 cm) long. Fasten off and weave in the ends.
Why the math works: The gauge is 11 sts across 2.4 in, or about 4.6 sts per inch. It’s also 15 rows over 3.3 in, or about 4.5 rows per inch. Working 1 sc per stitch and 1 sc per row-end puts the border at almost the same density on every edge, so it lies flat without ruffling or pulling. Three sc at each of the 8 outer corners turn the edge outward. One sc2tog at each of the 4 inner corners turns it inward. The single border round adds 0.15 in (0.4 cm) to each side, so 2.4 in becomes 2.7 in (6.9 cm) and 3.3 in becomes 3.6 in (9.1 cm).
Flowers (make 3)
Round 1: With cream, make a magic ring. Work 5 sc into the ring, pull it tight, and sl st to the first sc. Fasten off. (5 sc) The center measures 0.3 in (0.8 cm) across.
Round 2: Join lilac in any sc. *(Sl st, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, sl st) in the same st, then move to the next st; repeat from * around. Fasten off and leave a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail. (5 petals)
Each flower measures 0.8 in (2.0 cm) across.
Leaves (make 3)
With sage green, ch 4. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, and sc in last ch. Ch 1 and rotate. Working along the bottom loops, sc in the same last ch, hdc in next ch, and sc in next ch. Sl st in the skipped ch to form the tip. Fasten off and leave a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail. (6 sts)
The chain becomes a center vein. Each leaf measures 0.7 in (1.8 cm) long.
Assembly
- Pin one flower over the spine at each arm: at the top arm (Rows 13–15), the middle arm (Rows 7–9), and the bottom arm (Rows 1–3, set slightly higher).
- Let the petals overlap the outer border by about 0.1 in (0.3 cm).
- Tuck one leaf under the lower-right petal of each flower, angled at 45 degrees toward the arm.
- Sew everything down with the yarn tails, using small stitches through the petal bases and the leaf base. Keep the stitches hidden on the RS.
- Open the jump ring with two pliers and thread it through the hanging loop and the last link of the keychain chain. Close the ring fully.
Final Blocking
- Lightly mist the letter with water. Don’t soak it, because wet puffs can stretch.
- Pin it on the mat to 2.7 in (6.9 cm) x 3.6 in (9.1 cm).
- Use your fingers to square all 8 outer corners, and push the 4 inner corners into crisp right angles.
- Pinch each puff gently so it stands up.
- Let it dry completely, then remove the pins.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Rows 1–15 have the correct counts: 11, 11, 11, 3, 3, 3, 9, 9, 9, 3, 3, 3, 11, 11, 11.
- The spine shows a column of 7 aligned puffs.
- The arms are 5, 4, and 5 puffs long.
- Border Round 1 has 84 sts, and Round 2 has 84 sl st.
- The letter measures 2.7 in (6.9 cm) x 3.6 in (9.1 cm).
- The flowers are sewn securely and their petals don’t flip up.
- The jump ring is fully closed with no gap.
- All ends are woven in on the WS.
Troubleshooting
- Puffs are on the wrong side: You started the puff rows on the RS. Make sure Row 1 is the RS so that all puff rows are WS rows.
- The letter leans: You probably missed the sc in the top of the last puff. Count 11, 9, or 3 sts every row.
- The border ruffles: You added extra sc at the row-ends. Work exactly 1 sc per row-end.
- Inner corners bulge: Make sure you worked the sc2tog at each inner corner.
- The edges cup: Your tension is too tight. Loosen the Round 2 sl sts, or go up 0.25 mm for the border only.
- Flowers curl: Block the flowers flat before you sew them on.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap, press out the water in a towel, and dry flat. Remove the metal hardware first if it’s plated.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is simple to follow. Rows 1–3 should measure 2.4 in x 0.6 in (6.1 cm x 1.5 cm). The finished body should measure 2.4 in x 3.3 in (6.1 cm x 8.4 cm). Round 1 of the border is 84 sc and adds 0.15 in (0.4 cm) on every side, so the finished letter measures 2.7 in x 3.6 in (6.9 cm x 9.1 cm). Finally, add three 0.8 in (2.0 cm) flowers, three 0.7 in (1.8 cm) leaves, and a gold ring, and your E is ready to clip on.
Happy crocheting!