Woven Keychain Kit

  • Alpaca or Alpaca Blend Yarn
  • Reusable 3D Printed or Cardboard Loom
  • Plastic Tapestry Needle
  • Keychain Ring (Round or Clip Style)
    • Kits include round style

Project Information

Skill level: Beginner/Intermediate
Time to complete: 70-90 minutes

Finished Product

1 – Alpaca Keychain 4-6” long, 1.25” wide
* Our kits include enough supplies to make two keychains

Buy Your Own Alpaca Keychain Kit from Yarn Factory

Step 1 – Warping

Make a small knotted loop at the end of the yarn. Slip the yarn into the 4th slot of the loom (bottom left corner). Pull the yarn up to the top of the loom and slip yarn through the top left 4th slot. Keeping the main yarn on the front of the loom, go around a flap into the next slot, across the loom, around a flap, through the slot, and across the front of the loom until you have 6 warp strands. On the last warp strand tie a knot to secure that end to the flap. Make sure both knots are at the bottom of the loom.

Step 2 – Threading

Measure roughly 7-8 feet of yarn. Wrapping the yarn around the short side of the loom 10-12 times will be approximately what you need to start. Carefully cut that off the main ball of yarn making sure not to cut any warp strands.

Thread the needle and double the yarn. The needle should be in the middle of the yarn, giving you about 4 feet of yarn length.

Step 3 – Weaving

Start at the top left corner of the loom. Tie the ends of the yarn around the first warp strand on the left, leaving about a 3” tail (we’ll remove this later). Weave the needle under and over warp strands until you reach the last warp strand on the right.

Switch directions making sure to go around the outside warp strand, and repeat until you have woven several rows. As you weave these rows try not to pull too hard on your end warp strands. You want these to stay vertical and parallel to each other and not take up too much of an hourglass effect.

After a couple of rows carefully push them up towards the top flaps to condense the weaving

Continue to weave back and forth until you have about 1.5-2”. If you are keeping your keychain one color you can continue until you have woven 3-4”. If you want to change colors, or you have run out of yarn, cut off your needle with about 2” of yarn as a tail and follow step 4.

Step 4 – Changing color or adding more yarn

Measure out another 10-12 wraps of yarn (~7-8 feet) and thread your needle as before.

Start your weaving following the path of the last strand you wove. Pull the tail of the new yarn into the middle of your warp strands. Being careful not to pull the tail all the way back out, start weaving as normal with the new yarn.
As you weave the new yarn to the next row, tuck the old yarn’s tail under the end warp strand and in the middle of the new yarn as it wraps the end warp strand.
Weave about and inch of the new yarn as normal. When you are ready to switch back to the old yarn or a new color, cut off your needle like before.
If you are not switching colors and don’t need additional yarn, you can continue the next step.

Add in the old yarn color as before in step 4B. Weave approximately ½ inch.

*Leave your needle attached with a minimum of 10 inches of yarn to move on to the next step.

Step 5 – Cut Tassel Lengths

Cut 16 equal lengths of yarn, each about 6” long. If you want 2 colors you need 8 lengths of each color. These will be in sets of 2.

Don’t worry – they don’t need to be exactly the same. We’ll trim them in a later step.

Step 6 – Tassels-Rya knots

Take 2 cut tassel yarn strands, one of each color, and lay them across 2 warp strands.

Bring the left end of the cut tassel yarn under the left side of the warp strand and up in between the two warp strands you are working with. Take the right end of the cut tassel yarn under the right side warp strand and pull it up in between in the middle of the 2 warp strands.

Continue for each set of 2 warp strands. There should be 3 Rya knots in this row using 3 cut tassel yarn of each color.

Step 7 – Weave Under Rya Knotting

Weave 2 rows under the first row of rya knots with your still attached yarn and needle.

Step 8 – Continued Rya Knotting

Repeat another row of Rya knot just as before. There will be 3 Rya knots in this row.

Weave 3 rows under the second row of RYA knots with your still attached yarn and needle.

Making sure you take the yarn around the outside warp strand, insert the needle up the side of the weaving following the outside warp strand.

Pull the tail all the way through. Carefully cut off the needle yarn close to the main body of the project so there is NO tail. Closer than the photo shows.

Step 9 – Tuck in yarn changes

Using your empty needle weave into the project and tuck in the tails of the same color by putting them in the eye of the needle and pulling them through the weaving.

Trim the tips of the tails sticking out being careful not to cut the warp or project.

* Leave the starting yarn tail for now.

Step 10 – Detaching from the Loom

Move tassels up so that they are out of the way. Cut the first two warp strings on the very bottom left side and tie in a double knot. Repeat with the remaining warp strands. There will be 3 knots.
3 double knots using the warp strands.
Use the short side of the loom to measure out 8 wraps around the loom. Thread  your needle with that length of yarn
Use your threaded needle to carefully pick up each loop of their flap on the top of the loom.
Slowly walk your needle up off the loom so the warp loops are around the needle and the keychain comes off the loom. Be careful not to pull too hard, you don’t want to break a loop. Pull the yarn through the loops leaving a 3” tail next to the starting tail we left at the very beginning.

Step 11 – Adding the Keychain Ring

Whip stitch the key ring of your choice to the keychain. To do this pass the needle and yarn through the back of the ring, around to the front of the keychain, through one of the warp loops, and back up the backside of the ring. 

Move across the project until you have gone through each warp loop.

Then gently pull it tight.

When you have reached the other side of the project fold the tails from the start across the project. 
Whip stitch back to the other side of the project making sure to pass around those tails but going into the first row of weaving instead of through the warp loops. 
Gently pull tight.
After reaching the other side of the project you can whip stitch back across again to add extra security if you have enough yarn.

Step 12 – Finishing touches

After you are done whip stitching tie a double knot onto the key ring using your needle and yarn.

Once tied insert the needle through the whip stitching following the direction of the key ring. This will tuck your yarn on the needle.

Trim the tail off your needle close to the key ring, but don’t cut the project.
Take the needle and insert along the key ring under the whip stitching again this time threading the last tails in the eye of the needle and pulling it through.
Trim those tails as before to hide them.

You can carefully push up the project with your fingers closer to the keyring if there is a large gap after whip stitching.

Step 13 – Trim tassels

Cut the tassels to the length of your liking.

Be careful not to trim them shorter than the double knots you made on the warp strands when taking it off of the loom.

COMPLETED – GREAT WORK!

Your keychain project is complete! Your loom and needles can be reused, so make sure to keep them for future projects.