This little keychain is a block letter “N” with a fine mesh texture and a nasturtium vine climbing across it. It is small enough for a bag zipper, a drawer pull, or a set of keys, and it makes a thoughtful personalized gift.
The body is sage-mint green. The flowers are soft peach with red-orange streaks and golden-yellow centers. The round leaves are leaf green with light green veins, and two tiny peach buds finish the vine. A gold split ring hangs from a short tab on top of the left leg.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished letter measures 3.25 in (8.3 cm) tall and 2.5 in (6.4 cm) wide, not counting the ring tab.
You work the letter sideways in rows, from its left edge to its right edge. Chain extensions and unworked stitches shape the diagonal. A two-round border smooths the edges. You then make the appliqués separately and sew them on.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 3.25 in (8.3 cm) tall x 2.5 in (6.4 cm) wide
- Skill level: Intermediate (simple stitches, careful counting)
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Fingering / super fine (#1) cotton
- Hook: 2.25 mm (US B-1)
- Number of pieces: 1 letter body, plus 2 flowers, 3 leaves, and 2 buds sewn on as appliqués
- Layout: Single letter, no motif joining
- Body size before border: 3 in (7.6 cm) tall x 2.25 in (5.7 cm) wide
- Border depth: 1/8 in (0.3 cm) per side, two rounds
Materials
Use a smooth mercerized cotton in fingering weight. It shows the mesh holes clearly and holds the letter’s crisp shape. Fuzzy yarns fill the holes and blur the diagonal.
- Sage-mint green (body, border, tab): 8 g, about 27 m
- Peach (petals, buds): 3 g, about 10 m
- Leaf green (leaves, stems, bud tips): 3 g, about 10 m
- Red-orange (flower centers, streaks): 1 g, about 4 m
- Golden yellow (stamens): 1 g, about 4 m
- Light green (leaf veins): 1 g, about 3 m
These amounts include extra for checking gauge and for sewing tails.
Tools:
– 2.25 mm (US B-1) crochet hook
– Gold split ring, 1 in (2.5 cm)
– Tapestry needle and a sharp embroidery needle
– 2 locking stitch markers
– Rustproof pins, a grid blocking mat, and a spray bottle
– Small scissors
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch: chain
- sl st: slip stitch
- sc: single crochet
- hdc: half double crochet
- dc: double crochet
- sc2tog: single crochet 2 together
- sk: skip
- sp: space
- st(s): stitch(es)
- BLO: back loop only
- rep: repeat
Special stitch, sc mesh: Repeat (sc, ch 1, sk 1). Work each sc into the sc below, so each ch-1 sits over the ch-1 below and the holes stack into a neat grid. Each sc and each ch-1 counts as 1 st. Rows have an odd stitch count, so every row starts and ends with sc.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 14 sts and 16 rows = 2 in (5.1 cm) in sc mesh. That is 7 sts and 8 rows per 1 in (2.5 cm).
The letter is its own test piece. Work Rows 1–5 (the left leg) and measure before going on.
- Foundation chain of 22: about 3 in (7.6 cm) long, relaxed.
- After Row 5: 3 in (7.6 cm) tall x 0.625 in (1.6 cm) wide.
- After Row 12: 1.5 in (3.8 cm) wide.
- After Row 18: 3 in (7.6 cm) tall x 2.25 in (5.7 cm) wide.
- After the border: 3.25 in (8.3 cm) x 2.5 in (6.4 cm).
If the left leg is taller than 3 in (7.6 cm), change to a 2.0 mm hook. If it is shorter, change to a 2.5 mm hook. Height matters most because every full row has 21 sts.
Letter Body
Hold the work so Row 1 runs up the left edge of the letter. Stitch positions are numbered 1 (bottom) to 21 (top). Odd rows go from bottom to top and even rows go from top to bottom. Every sc lands on an odd position.
Foundation: With sage-mint, ch 22.
Row 1 (bottom to top): Sc in 2nd ch from hook, (ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next ch) 10 times. (11 sc + 10 ch-1 sps = 21 sts)
Rows 2–5: Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, (ch 1, sk next ch-1 sp, sc in next sc) 10 times. (21 sts per row)
Row 5 ends at the top. That finishes the left leg, so check your gauge now.
Diagonal
Row 6 (top to bottom): Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, (ch 1, sk next sp, sc in next sc) 4 times. Leave the remaining 12 sts unworked. (9 sts, positions 21 to 13)
Row 7 (bottom to top): Ch 5, turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next ch, ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next sc, (ch 1, sk next sp, sc in next sc) 2 times. Leave the last 4 sts unworked. (9 sts, positions 9 to 17)
Row 8 (top to bottom): Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, (ch 1, sk next sp, sc in next sc) 4 times. (9 sts, positions 17 to 9)
Row 9: Rep Row 7. (9 sts, positions 5 to 13)
Row 10: Rep Row 8. (9 sts, positions 13 to 5)
Row 11: Rep Row 7. (9 sts, positions 1 to 9)
Row 12: Rep Row 8. (9 sts, positions 9 to 1)
Each pair of rows moves the 9-st band down 4 positions. That makes a steep diagonal about as thick as the legs.
Right Leg
Row 13 (bottom to top): Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, (ch 1, sk next sp, sc in next sc) 4 times, ch 13. (9 sts + 13 ch)
Row 14 (top to bottom): Sc in 2nd ch from hook, (ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next ch) 5 times, ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next sc, (ch 1, sk next sp, sc in next sc) 4 times. (21 sts)
The first 12 chains fill positions 10 to 21: 6 sc go into chains and 6 chains are skipped. The 9 sts over Row 13 bring the total to 21.
Rows 15–18: Rep Row 2. (21 sts per row)
Row 18 ends at the bottom-right corner. Do not fasten off. The body should measure 3 in (7.6 cm) x 2.25 in (5.7 cm).
Flowers (Make 2)
Rnd 1: With red-orange, make a magic ring, ch 1, 10 sc in ring, join with sl st to first sc. Fasten off. (10 sts)
Rnd 2: Join peach in any sc, (sc in same st, ch 3, sk next st, sc in next st) 4 times, ch 3, sk last st, join to first sc. (5 sc + 5 ch-3 loops)
Rnd 3: Sl st into first loop, (sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, sc) in each ch-3 loop around, join. Fasten off. (5 petals of 7 sts = 35 sts)
Each flower is about 1.1 in (2.8 cm) across. With red-orange, embroider 3 short straight stitches from the center onto each petal. With golden yellow, work 6 straight stitches out from the center and finish each one with a small French knot.
Leaves (Make 3)
Rnd 1: With leaf green, magic ring, 6 sc in ring. (6 sts)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around. (12 sts)
Rnd 3: (Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) 6 times, join with sl st. Fasten off. (18 sts)
Each leaf is about 0.7 in (1.8 cm) across. With light green, backstitch 6 spokes from the center to the edge.
Buds (Make 2)
Rnd 1: With peach, magic ring, 4 sc in ring. (4 sts)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around. (8 sts)
Rnd 3: Sc in each st around. (8 sts)
Rnd 4: Sc2tog 4 times. (4 sts) Fasten off, close the top, and flatten.
Each bud is about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) long and 0.4 in (1.0 cm) wide. With leaf green, work 3 straight stitches over the tip to make the calyx.
Border
Border gauge: Work 1 sc in each stitch or foundation chain, 1 sc in each row end, and 3 sc in each outer corner. Do not add extra stitches at the stair steps of the diagonal. Corners are listed on their own so they are never counted twice.
Rnd 1: Ch 1, turn so the tops of Row 18 face you, and sc around as follows:
- Corner 1 (bottom right): 3 sc in first sc of Row 18.
- Right side: 1 sc in each of positions 2 to 20. (19 sc)
- Corner 2 (top right): 3 sc in last sc.
- Top of right leg: 1 sc in each row end of Rows 17, 16, 15. (3 sc)
- Corner 3: 3 sc in the turning chain at the top of Row 14.
- Inner edge of right leg: 1 sc in each free chain loop from Row 13, positions 20 down to 10. (11 sc)
- Upper notch: row ends of Rows 12 and 11 (2), positions 10–13 of Row 10 (4), row ends of Rows 10 and 9 (2), positions 14–17 of Row 8 (4), row ends of Rows 8 and 7 (2), positions 18–20 of Row 6 (3), 1 sc in each. (17 sc)
- Corner 4: 3 sc in the top sc of Row 6.
- Top of left leg: 1 sc in each row end of Rows 5, 4, 3, 2. (4 sc)
- Corner 5 (top left): 3 sc in top sc of Row 1.
- Left side: 1 sc in each foundation chain, positions 20 down to 2. (19 sc)
- Corner 6 (bottom left): 3 sc in bottom sc of Row 1.
- Bottom of left leg: 1 sc in each row end of Rows 2, 3, 4. (3 sc)
- Corner 7: 3 sc in bottom sc of Row 5.
- Lower notch: positions 2–12 of Row 5 (11), row end of Row 6 (1), chain loops of Row 7 at positions 12–9 (4), row ends of Rows 7 and 8 (2), chain loops of Row 9 at positions 8–5 (4), row ends of Rows 9 and 10 (2), chain loops of Row 11 at positions 4–2 (3), 1 sc in each. (27 sc)
- Corner 8: 3 sc in the bottom corner of Row 11.
- Bottom of right section: 1 sc in each row end of Rows 12 to 17. (6 sc)
Join with sl st to first sc. (8 corners x 3 = 24 sc, plus 109 edge sc = 133 sc)
Rnd 2: Working in BLO, sl st in each sc around, with (sl st, ch 1, sl st) in the center sc of each corner. Join and fasten off. (141 sl sts + 8 ch-1 = 149 sts)
Why the math works: One sc per stitch matches the body gauge, so the long sides stay at 3 in (7.6 cm). Each row-end section is only 2 to 6 rows long, which is too short to ruffle. The 3-sc corners turn cleanly, and the ch-1 in Rnd 2 gives each corner a crisp point. With no extra stitches at the steps, the diagonal stays straight. The two rounds add 1/8 in (0.3 cm) per side, so 3 in x 2.25 in (7.6 cm x 5.7 cm) becomes 3.25 in x 2.5 in (8.3 cm x 6.4 cm).
Ring Tab
Row 1: Join sage-mint in the Rnd 2 sl st above the 2nd sc of the left-leg top edge. Ch 1, sc in same st and next 2 sts. (3 sts)
Rows 2–8: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st. (3 sts)
The tab is 1 in (2.5 cm) long. Slide on the ring, fold the tab to the back, and whipstitch it down to leave a 0.5 in (1.3 cm) loop.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all body ends along the border.
- Pin the plain letter to the grid at 3.25 in (8.3 cm) x 2.5 in (6.4 cm), starting with the 8 corners.
- Check that the legs are straight and the diagonal is not curved.
- Mist until damp and let dry completely, 4 to 6 hours.
- Place the leaves: one at the upper right of the left leg, 0.25 in (0.6 cm) below the top; one on the outer edge of the right leg, centered; one at the base of the right leg.
- Place the upper flower over the first leaf, about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) below the top. Place the lower flower over the third leaf.
- Place one bud below the upper flower and the other 0.375 in (1.0 cm) below the top of the right leg.
- Sew each piece on through its back so the stitches stay hidden.
- With leaf green, chain-stitch a curving stem about 1.25 in (3.2 cm) long down the left leg, with a branch to the first bud. Add a short stem to the second bud.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Every full row has 21 sts and every diagonal row has 9 sts.
- Before the border, the body measures 3 in (7.6 cm) x 2.25 in (5.7 cm).
- Border Rnd 1 has 133 sc.
- The finished letter measures 3.25 in (8.3 cm) x 2.5 in (6.4 cm).
- The mesh holes line up in straight columns.
- All 7 appliqués are secure, with no stitches showing on the front.
- The ring closes fully.
Troubleshooting
Holes don’t line up: A sc went into a ch-1 sp. Every sc goes into a sc.
Wavy diagonal: Extra stitches were added at the steps. Rework with 1 sc per unit.
Inner corners pucker: The border is too tight. Work it looser or use a hook 0.25 mm larger.
Petals cup: The ch-3 loops are too short. Chain more loosely.
Leaves ruffle: Recount Rnd 3 to 18 sts.
Care
Hand wash in cool water, reshape the corners, and lay flat to dry.
Final Notes
Here is the measurement chain. 21 sts make the 3 in (7.6 cm) height and 18 rows make the 2.25 in (5.7 cm) width. The two border rounds add 1/8 in (0.3 cm) per side, for a finished letter of 3.25 in x 2.5 in (8.3 cm x 6.4 cm). Check the left leg first and keep your counts exact, and the diagonal will come out right.
Happy crocheting!