March - Scrappy Keyring

gemharvestbarn
Mar 12
3 min read

Tremor Textiles proudly presents the first Monthly Make!

Please, I’m begging you, don’t throw away those scraps of weird and wonderful fabric from your last project. This keyring is so simple, great for practicing with a free motion foot, and can be put together in half an hour or less! And, no precise pattern cutting. I chose a cute house design for this one, but you can do whatever design you like, and just cut out your applique fabric piece free hand. No perfect straight lines here, but doesn’t that just add to the charm of the keyring? Great as a make for yourself or as a thoughtful gift for a friend.

Scrappy Keyring:

You will need:

Felt – This will make up the base of your keyring. I used two pieces of 2 inches x 3 inches, but you can do whatever size you like. Just make sure you cut out two identical pieces.
Scrap fabric – choose whatever design you like that will fit onto your keyring. I chose this simple house, but you can do whatever design you like. Let your imagination run wild!
Thread – I used a brown for the details of the house and a yellow for the border to compliment the fabric I used for the house, but again, use whatever colours take your fancy. You really can make this as crazy or sophisticated as you like!
Toy/cushion filling – I used some that I had laying around at home, but it’s also available in most craft shops. Even better, if you want to get rid of those tiny scraps, use those as your filler.
Ribbon – This will make the loop for your keyring. Again, anything you have lying around the house will do. Maybe some leftover from Christmas gift wrapping?
Metal keyring (optional) – to complete your keyring. Don’t worry if you don’t have one of these though, you can thread the look onto any existing keyring that you have.

No free motion/darning foot? No problem.

This keyring can also be made with a regular foot, just adapt your design accordingly.

How to make:

1. Cut out all of your pieces – your two identical felt rectangles, and the fabric for your design.

2. Place your cut out design onto one of the felt pieces. You can pin it in place if you like, but sometimes it’s fun to just go for it!

For my keyring, I started with the outline of the main house (in yellow) to keep the design in place, before adding the door and window details. I added the roof last to give it some dimension.

3. Once you have sewn on your design, it’s time to attach your two felt pieces together. Switch up your thread colour if you like here. Align the pieces back to back, with your design facing you, and begin sewing a straight-ish seam around the edge of the rectangle, about 2 mm from the raw edge of the fabric, leaving about an inch before where you began stitching (this is where you’ll insert your stuffing).

For attaching your ribbon loop, simply fold the ribbon in half and place the ends between the two pieces of felt where you would like them to lie, and continue your stitch over them so they are seamlessly incorporated into your keyring.

4. Now it’s time to add your stuffing. You can add as much or as little as you like here, just make sure you can still pinch that open seam together as now you’ll need to sew it closed.

5. Starting where you just stopped stitching, stitch the seam closed. You should now have a continuous seam around the edges of your keyring.

6. If you have a metal keyring, this can now be threaded onto your ribbon loop.

Now you have a delightful handmade scrappy keyring. How easy was that!?

Projects like this are so great for using up leftover fabric and getting some practice in with a free motion foot. I find that the more messy and imperfect the design, the more charming these keyrings come out, and can be recreated as much as your imagination desires!