Crochet Cherry Keychain — A Tiny Weekend Project

I had some leftover red and green yarn sitting in my stash from a strawberry project ages ago, and I finally got around to using it up on a cherry keychain last week. Posted it on my story and got a bunch of “how did you make this” messages, so here’s the writeup.

It’s small enough to finish in one sitting, and it’s a solid starter project if you’re still new to amigurumi — you just need to know magic rings, increases, and decreases, nothing fancier than that.

What you need

• Red yarn (for the cherries)
• Green yarn (for the stems and leaf)
• 2.5–3.0mm hook
• Fiberfill stuffing
• Yarn needle
• Scissors
• Keyring with a short chain

I usually reach for cotton since the stitches show up cleaner, but acrylic is more forgiving if your tension isn’t consistent yet.

Cherry (make 2)

Work in a continuous spiral, no joining rounds. Toss a stitch marker on your first stitch if you tend to lose your place.

1. Rnd 1: magic ring, 6 sc into it (6)
2. Rnd 2: inc in every stitch (12)
3. Rnd 3: 1 sc, inc around (18)
4. Rnd 4: 2 sc, inc around (24)
5. Stuff it now — pack it in fairly firm, not just tossed in loosely, or it ends up lopsided.
6. Rnd 5: 2 sc, dec around (18)
7. Rnd 6: 1 sc, dec around (12)
8. Rnd 7: dec around until the opening’s small (6)

Cut the yarn with a long tail, cinch the last stitches closed, weave in the end.

Repeat for the second cherry.

Stem

1. Chain 15.
2. Sl st into the 2nd chain from the hook, then sl st down the rest (14 sl sts left).
3. Fasten off, leave a tail for sewing.

Make two — one per cherry.

Leaf

1. Chain 8.
2. Row 1: starting in the 2nd chain from the hook — sc, hdc, dc, dc, hdc, sc, sl st into the last chain. Ch 1, turn.
3. Row 2: work back down the other side of the chain the same way — sc, hdc, dc, dc, hdc, sc, sl st to close. Fasten off.

Gives you a pointed little leaf with a visible center line, looks more finished than you’d expect for how simple it is.

Assembly

1. Sew a stem to the top of each cherry.
2. Bring the two stems together and tack them where they meet.
3. Sew the leaf on right at that meeting point.
4. Attach the keyring and chain just above, behind the leaf.

A few things I picked up along the way

• Keep your stitches on the tighter side — loose ones let the stuffing peek through.
• Stuff before closing up the round, not after. Trying to cram stuffing through a nearly-shut opening just warps the shape.
• If one cherry ends up lopsided, it’s almost always the stuffing sitting unevenly, not a miscount — pull it apart and redistribute rather than adding more.
• Bump up to a 4mm hook with bulkier yarn if you want a chunkier version for a bag charm instead — same stitch pattern either way.

Makes a nice little gift on its own, or tied onto something bigger. Once the sphere shaping clicks, the same base works for strawberries, apples, whatever tiny fruit you’re into next.