This is a cat keychain about 7 cm tall, made with a 2 mm hook, plus a crocheted donut that hangs next to it. It is the smallest project on this site and the fastest: head, body, ears, nose, legs and arms together take less than two hours, and the donut takes twenty minutes.
The trick is the scale. At 2 mm, every stitch counts, so the eyes go between rounds 9 and 10 with exactly 6 stitches between them, and the pink inner ears are made separately and sewn on flat. If you work it in thicker yarn you get a small plush instead of a keychain — same pattern, very different object.
Every round is written out below, including the donut and the icing drip.
What you need
- Yarn: cotton or acrylic in white, pink and brown, at 2 mm hook scale
- Hook: 2 mm
- Safety eyes: 6 mm
- Notions: stuffing, yarn needle, keychain ring, scissors
Abbreviations
- MR magic ring, sc single crochet, inc increase, dec decrease, ch chain
- Rnd round
Head (white)
- Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR (6)
- Rnd 2: inc x6 (12)
- Rnd 3: (sc, inc) x6 (18)
- Rnd 4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24)
- Rnd 5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30)
- Rnd 6: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36)
- Rnd 7–12: sc in all (36) — 6 rounds
Attach the safety eyes between Rnd 9 and Rnd 10, 6 stitches apart.
- Rnd 13: (4 sc, dec) x6 (30)
- Rnd 14: (3 sc, dec) x6 (24)
- Rnd 15: (2 sc, dec) x6 (18)
- Rnd 16: dec, 10 sc, dec, 4 sc (16)
Stuff the head and leave it aside.
Body (white)
- Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR (6)
- Rnd 2: inc x6 (12)
- Rnd 3: (sc, inc) x6 (18)
- Rnd 4: (2 sc, inc) x6 (24)
- Rnd 5: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30)
- Rnd 6–10: sc in all (30) — 5 rounds
- Rnd 11: (4 sc, dec) x5 (25)
- Rnd 12: (3 sc, dec) x5 (20)
- Rnd 13: sc in all (20)
- Rnd 14: (3 sc, dec) x4 (16)
- Rnd 15–16: sc in all (16) — 2 rounds
Stuff the body and close the opening.
Ears (make 2, white) and inner ears (make 2, pink)
Ears:
- Rnd 1: 4 sc in MR (4)
- Rnd 2: (sc, inc) x2 (6)
- Rnd 3: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8)
- Rnd 4: (3 sc, inc) x2 (10)
- Rnd 5: (4 sc, inc) x2 (12)
- Rnd 6: (5 sc, inc) x2 (14)
- Rnd 7: sc in all (14)
Inner ears, in pink, worked flat:
- Rnd 1: 4 sc in ring, turn
- Rnd 2: inc, 2 sc, inc
Flatten the ears and sew the pink pieces onto the front of each one before attaching them to the head.
Nose (pink)
- Rnd 1: 6 sc in ring (6)
- Rnd 2: inc x6 (12)
- Rnd 3: sc in all (12)
Sew the nose onto the face, centred between the eyes, and embroider the mouth and whiskers with a single strand of yarn.
Legs (make 2)
Ch 5 and start in the second chain from the hook.
- Rnd 1: 3 sc, 3 sc in the last stitch, 2 sc, inc
- Rnd 2: inc, 2 sc, 3 inc, 2 sc, 2 inc
- Rnd 3: 4 sc, 3 dec, 4 sc, dec
- Rnd 4: 4 sc, 2 dec, 4 sc
- Rnd 5–10: sc in all — 6 rounds
- Rnd 11: 3 sc, dec
Stuff the feet lightly and sew the legs under the body.
Belly (brown)
Ch 5, start in the second chain from the hook.
- Rnd 1: inc, 2 sc, 3 sc in the last stitch, continue on the other side of the chain: 2 sc, inc
- Rnd 2: inc, 3 sc, 3 inc, 2 sc, inc
Sew the belly patch on the front of the body. On a keychain this small, a patch that is one stitch off is visible, so pin it first.
Arms (make 2, white)
- Rnd 1: 6 sc in ring (6)
- Rnd 2–8: sc in all (6) — 7 rounds
No stuffing. Sew the arms at the sides of the body, just under the head.
Donut
Ch 15, start in the second chain from the hook.
- Rnd 1: 1 sc in all, ch 1, turn
- Rnd 2: inc in all, ch 1, turn
- Rnd 3–5: sc in all, ch 1, turn — 3 rows
- Rnd 6: dec in all, ch 1, turn
- Rnd 7–8: sc in all
Sew the sides together, stuff, then join the two ends to close the ring.
Icing (pink)
Ch 15 and slst in the first stitch to make a ring.
- Rnd 1: (sc, inc) around
- Rnd 2: sc in all
- Rnd 3: (2 sc, inc) around
- Rnd 4: sc in all
- Rnd 5: icing drips — (ch 3, starting in the second chain from the hook: 2 hdc, slst in the next stitch), as many drips as you like
Slip the icing over the donut and sew it down at the inner edge. Then attach both the cat and the donut to the keychain ring.
Notes
At 2 mm the pieces are small enough that a magnetic stitch marker is worth more than a yarn one. If you want a bigger version, use 3.5 mm and sport weight and the cat comes out around 12 cm, which is a keychain for a bag rather than a key.
For bigger cats, Cucho the Cat is 12 cm in chunky yarn, Little Miki Cat is a hooded 4-inch cat, and Cream and Brown Kitty is a jointed full-size one. Everything is on the patterns page.
Pattern source: cat keychain with donut, as shared by the original designer on the amigurumi pattern blogs.
If you want a bigger cat than the keychain, Esperanza Cat is 24 cm with a 29-round tail.
Another pocket-sized make: Penny, a plush creature closed with slip stitch decreases.
For a cat toy with a purpose, Cat Rattle is a 42-stitch ring with a bell inside and a 34-round handle.
For a bag in cord rather than cotton, Slice Handbag is a 68-stitch oval with short rows for the walls.
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