Adorable Crochet Cherry Keychain: 5 Easy Mini Bag Charms

Car keys and school backpacks get a bright fruit accent from the crochet cherry keychain, with two red berries hanging under a pair of wide green leaves. Friends who love cherry prints will enjoy the cherry bag charm as a small gift tucked into a birthday card or a party bag. Two berries bob against each other on their stems, giving this crochet cherry keychain amigurumi a cheeky streak every time the bag moves. It has attitude for something so small. Pairs well with anyone who likes their keys to carry a bit of mischief rather than sit quietly in a pocket.

Gift and Use Ideas

While this project is technically a keychain, its small size and cheerful aesthetic make it incredibly versatile. It serves as a perfect “just because” gift for friends who appreciate handmade details. You can attach it to a zipper on a tote bag for a pop of color, or use the shorter chain version as a neat zipper pull for a pencil case. For a festive touch, three or four cherries on one long branch work beautifully as a hanging decoration for a shelf or a rear-view mirror. If you are looking for a quick market-table item, these charm up quickly and pair well with other small fruit-themed accessories.

Project Overview

This amigurumi pattern creates a playful cherry keychain featuring two round berries hanging from braided stems, joined at the top by a pair of pointed leaves. The fruit is worked in the round and stuffed firm, ensuring each piece keeps its shape while swinging. The stems are simple chains, long enough to loop over a key ring or a bag strap. Leaves are worked as separate pieces and stitched on at the join. Nothing here requires complex shaping tricks or awkward assembly, making it an excellent choice for anyone still getting comfortable with small round pieces. The whole project reads as playful rather than fussy and works up in one sitting.

Materials

• Fine weight 100 percent cotton yarn in red
• Fine weight 100 percent cotton yarn in green
• 2.75 mm crochet hook
• Stitch marker
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Fiberfill stuffing, or scrap yarn if that is what you have
• Optional key ring, lobster clasp, or swivel hook

Yarn amounts are small and approximate. Around 8 to 10 g of red and 2 to 3 g of green should be plenty for one keychain.

Abbreviations

• SC: single crochet
• HDC: half double crochet
• DC: double crochet
• Sl st: slip stitch
• Increase: two stitches worked into the same stitch
• Decrease: two stitches crocheted together

Pattern Notes

• The cherries are worked in continuous rounds. Do not join with a slip stitch at the end of a round. Place a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round and move it up as you go.
• Keep your tension slightly tighter than usual. These pieces are small, and loose stitches let stuffing show through the fabric.
• The cherries are stuffed near the end rather than partway through, which keeps the shape smooth and round.
• The leaf is worked flat, around both sides of a foundation chain.
• The branch is threaded through both cherries during assembly, so leave your tails long. You will want them.

Pattern Instructions

Cherry (Make 2)

Round 1: Magic circle, chain 1, work 6 SC into the ring [6]

Round 2: Increase in each stitch around [12]. Checkpoint: this should still lie flat like a small coin, with no cupping yet.

Round 3: 1 SC, increase, repeat around [18]. Checkpoint: a flat disc about the size of a large button, edges only just starting to lift.

Round 4: 1 SC in each stitch around [18]

Round 5: 1 SC in each stitch around [18]. Checkpoint: the sides should now stand up on their own, giving you a shallow bowl rather than a disc.

Round 6: 1 SC in each stitch around [18]. Checkpoint: closer to a thimble than a bowl now, with straight sides and an open top.

Round 7: 1 SC, decrease, repeat around [12]. Checkpoint: the opening has visibly pulled inward and the piece is holding a round shape even before stuffing. Add stuffing firmly.

Round 8: Decrease in each stitch around [6]. Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail. Weave the tail through the front loops of the remaining 6 stitches. Pull tight to close. Knot securely.

Repeat all of the above to make the second cherry.

Leaf (Make 1)

Make a slip knot. Chain 16.

Side 1

Skip the first chain. 1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC, 2 DC in next stitch, 1 DC, 1 HDC, 1 SC, 1 slip stitch at center. Checkpoint: half the leaf edge is now formed and should already show a soft outward curve where the two DC sit together.

Side 2, reverse

1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC, 2 DC in next stitch, 1 DC, 1 HDC, 1 SC, 3 SC in last chain. Checkpoint: you have reached the tip. The 3 SC form the point, and the work should turn naturally so you can travel back along the opposite side of the chain.

Work around opposite side of chain

1 HDC, 1 DC, 2 DC in next stitch, 1 DC, 1 HDC, 1 SC, 1 slip stitch.

Finish second side repeat

1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC, 2 DC in next stitch, 1 DC, 1 HDC, 2 SC in last stitch. Slip stitch to join. Checkpoint: laid flat, the leaf should sit as a pointed oval with a raised centre spine down the middle where the foundation chain runs. Fasten off, leaving a tail.

Branch (Make 1)

Make a slip knot. Chain 55 for a long bag charm OR chain 35 for a shorter keychain. Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Checkpoint: hold the chain up by one end. It should hang straight rather than corkscrewing. A tight cotton chain will spiral, and it never really settles down once it does, so work this piece looser than feels right.

Stuffing Guide

• Add stuffing in small pinches rather than one lump.
• Push each piece down with the back of your hook or the blunt end of your yarn needle so it reaches the bottom of the cherry before you fill the top.
• You are aiming for firm enough that the sphere holds its shape when squeezed, but not so full that the stitches spread and you can see white through the red.
• Over-stuffing shows up first around rounds 4 to 6, the straight middle section, where the fabric goes shiny and the stitches gape.
• The closed end almost never gives you away. Check the middle, not the top.
• The leaf stays flat and takes no stuffing at all.

Assembly

1. Thread the branch through the top center of the first cherry using a yarn needle, and sew securely into the top stitches.
2. Repeat with the second cherry at the other end of the branch, so both hang from the same chain.
3. Before you knot anything, hold the charm up by the middle of the branch and check that both cherries sit level. Adjust the chain until they do. This is much easier now than later.
4. Pull the branch through the center slip stitches of the leaf. Slide the leaf up so it sits just above the cherries, along the stem.
5. Pin or hold the leaf in place and look at it from a step back before securing. Leaves look wrong when they sit dead centre. Slightly off to one side reads better.
6. Knot and secure all ends, and weave the tails back into the cherries so nothing shows.
7. Attach a key ring, clasp, or swivel hook at the fold of the branch if you want one.

A single anchoring stitch through the leaf into the branch stops it sliding down over time. The pattern does not call for it, but it is worth thirty seconds.

Eyes and Face Placement

This pattern has no safety eyes and no embroidered face. The cherries are plain, which is part of why they read as fruit rather than as a character. If you decide to add a small face to each cherry, the eyes go in after round 6 and before you add stuffing. That is the last point where you can reach inside to fit the washers on a safety eye. Once round 7 pulls the opening in, you will not get your fingers back in there.

Place them around round 4 or 5, roughly a stitch and a half apart, and check both cherries match before you close either one. For anything going to a child under three, skip safety eyes entirely and embroider them with black yarn or thread instead. Two small satin stitches or a pair of French knots do the job and cannot be pulled loose.

Tips and Troubleshooting

The magic circle keeps loosening. Work round 2 into the ring before you pull the tail fully tight, then cinch it closed and give the tail a second tug after round 3. Weave that tail in properly rather than trusting the knot.

My cherry has a flat side. This usually comes from stuffing all at once. Unstuff, add smaller pieces, and work the filling out toward the walls with your hook before adding more.

I can see stuffing through the stitches. Your tension is too loose for the yarn. Drop to a 2.5 mm hook and make the second cherry again as a comparison. Fine cotton is unforgiving at this scale.

The closing hole is puckered or off centre. Weave through front loops only, never both loops, and go around all six stitches in the same direction before pulling. Pull slowly.

My two cherries are different sizes. Almost always a tension shift between the first and second piece, since people relax as they go. Make both cherries back to back in the same sitting rather than days apart.

The leaf curls instead of lying flat. Block it. Wet the leaf, press it flat under something heavy, and leave it to dry. Cotton holds a block well.

The branch twists into a spiral. Chain more loosely, or chain over a slightly larger hook and switch back for everything else.

The cherries slide along the branch. The sewing into the top stitches is what holds them, not the threading. Go back and add three or four anchoring stitches through the chain and into the cherry top.

Yarn Substitution and Size Scaling

Fine weight cotton gives the crisp stitch definition that makes the cherries look like fruit rather than pompoms, so if you can stay in cotton, do. Acrylic works but tends to look fuzzier at this size. Moving up to DK weight with a 3.5 mm hook will produce cherries somewhere around 5 to 6 cm across, which is bag charm territory rather than keychain. Worsted with a 4 mm hook gets you closer to 7 cm, big enough to read as a small toy. Stitch counts stay exactly the same at every size; only the hook and yarn change. If you scale up, add a round or two of plain SC between rounds 6 and 7 for a slightly taller cherry shape rather than a perfect ball.

Colour and Customization Ideas

Deep burgundy instead of bright red gives you black cherries. Yellow and soft pink worked as one cherry each turns the pair into rainier cherries. Two shades of green, one for the leaf and one for the branch, adds depth without extra work. A single cherry on a short chain makes a neat zipper pull. A tiny gold or brown chain instead of green reads as a stem on a cocktail cherry.

Toy Safety

If this is going anywhere near a small child, skip the key ring hardware and the long chain. A 55 chain branch is a strangulation risk for babies and toddlers, and the short 35 chain version is not much better. Sew the two cherries directly together instead and leave the stem short. Use embroidered details rather than any glued or plastic parts, tug hard on every attachment point before handing it over, and check the sewn joins again after a few weeks of use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different yarn weight?

Yes, but you will lose your place if you do not adjust the hook size. Moving up to DK weight with a 3.5 mm hook will produce cherries around 5 to 6 cm across. Stitch counts stay exactly the same at every size; only the hook and yarn change.

How do I stop the chain from spiraling?

A tight cotton chain will spiral, and it never really settles down once it does. Work the branch chain looser than feels right. If it has already spiraled, chain over a slightly larger hook and switch back for everything else.

Can I add a face to the cherries?

Yes, and they look good. Fit them after round 6 while the piece is still open, and remember the washers go on permanently, so check placement on both cherries first. For a child under three, embroider instead.

Why is my cherry flat on one side?

This usually comes from stuffing all at once. Unstuff, add smaller pieces, and work the filling out toward the walls with your hook before adding more.

What if I don’t have a stitch marker?

You can use a scrap of contrasting yarn laid across the first stitch of each round, and a bobby pin works better than either.

For more small amigurumi projects, check out our cute cherry keychain pattern or try the beginner Brussels sprout amigurumi for a fun vegetable twist.