14 rounds · filed under dense · 8 of them
Amigurumi · added 2 Oct 2026
Plush single crochet horse keychain pattern
Single crochet in plush yarn builds a dense, spongy horse keychain with hooved legs and a tufted mane.
- Skill
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Hook
- 3.75 mm
- Yarn
- Bulky
- Rounds
- 12
About this pattern
Worked almost entirely in single crochet, this fabric packs tight and spongy under the fingers, with plush yarn filling any gap between stitches so the surface reads soft and slightly fuzzy rather than textured. The bobbles at the base of each leg and arm add small raised knots that break up the otherwise smooth, dense body of sc, giving the hooves a bit of grip for the eye and the hand alike.
The body and head form one compact rounded shape from a tight 8-stitch magic ring, built up fast with a single increase round rather than a slow, gradual sphere. Legs and arms attach as separate stuffed tubes, each starting flat at the hoof before curling into the round, so the finished horse holds its shape as a small stuffed figure meant to hang rather than stand.
The swatch in numbers
- Rounds
- 12
- Parts
- 5
- Level
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Hook
- 3.75 mm
- Yarn
- Bulky
The yarn and the hook
- Plush yarn (100 g / 120 m) in 2 colors:
- Main color
- Small amount of contrasting color for legs and arms
- Optional contrasting color for the muzzle
- Faux fur yarn for the mane and tail
- Stuffing
- Stitch marker
- Yarn needle
- Crochet hook suitable for your tension (designer used a 3.75 mm Clover hook)
- 8 mm safety eyes
Stitches, spelled out
MR Magic RingDense; sc Single CrochetDense; inc Increase; dec Decrease; ch Chain; sl st Slip Stitch; dc Double CrochetDrape; Bobble (3 or 4 dc) Work 3 or 4 dc into one stitch with a common top.Squish.
Tension and hand-feel
After round 1, check that the 8 single crochets around the magic ring sit close enough to leave no visible holes at the center when you spread the fabric slightly.
If stuffing already peeks through at that stage, drop down a hook size and work the round again before continuing, since a looser body round will only get gappier as the increases build it out.
Body & Head
Work in the main color.
Leg (using contrast color)
ch 6, starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, make 4 bobbles, then work 4 sl st along the chain, sl st into the base stitch.
2 inc, Leg (contrast color), 3 inc (16)
Arm (contrast color)
ch 6, starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, make 3 bobbles, then work 4 sl st along the chain, sl st into the base stitch.
3 dec, Arm (contrast color), 2 dec (8)
Ear
ch 3, starting in the 2nd chain from the hook work sl st, sc, sl st into the base stitch.
8 sc, Ear, 2 sc (16)
Mane
Attach faux fur yarn at the top of the head and work downward, catching the head stitches with 5–6 slip stitches.
Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail. Fasten off and pull the yarn to the starting point of the mane.
For a short forelock, tie both ends together and hide them inside.
For a long forelock, tie both ends together and trim to the desired length.
Finishing Embroider the eyes, eyebrows, and nostrils.
Your horse keychain is finished! 🐴✨
How the texture is built
- Legs and arms both open with a short flat chain of 6 worked with bobbles for the hooves, then slip-stitched back along the chain and joined to the base stitch before the piece turns into a round tube, so the hoof sits as a flat tab rather than a stuffed round shape.
- The body and head stay at just 2 rounds, starting from an 8 sc magic ring and increasing only once with 3 inc, which keeps the whole upper piece compact and fast-building rather than shaped like a gradually rounding sphere.
- The muzzle increases in round 8 sit after 8 sc rather than spaced evenly around the round, so the bulge forms at one point on the face instead of swelling the whole head evenly.
Putting the pieces together
If you swap the yarn
| Worsted-weight cotton | Produces a firmer, less springy fabric with clearer stitch definition than plush yarn, so increases and bobbles stand out more sharply; stuff a touch more densely to compensate for the stiffer wall, and keep the same 3.75 mm hook or go down slightly for a tighter sc. |
|---|---|
| DK-weight acrylic | Makes a noticeably smaller, lighter keychain with less loft and drape than the plush original; drop to roughly a 3 mm hook to keep the single crochet dense enough to hold stuffing without gapping. |
| Chenille yarn | Keeps a similar soft, plush hand but with more directional nap along the body and a bulkier wall at the round 2 increases; size the hook up slightly from 3.75 mm to let the thicker strand move through stitches without splitting. |
Colorways
- Chestnut and cream Main color in deep chestnut brown for the body, head, and ears; contrast cream or tan on the legs, arms, and hooves, with the same cream carried into the optional muzzle round.
- Charcoal and dove gray Main color in charcoal for the body and head; lighter dove gray contrast on the legs and arms, with a soft blush or white worked into the muzzle increases for a two-tone face.
Washing and blocking
Hand wash in cool water and avoid wringing the plush yarn, since agitation can mat the pile and flatten the sc texture over the hooves and muzzle.
Lay flat to air dry and reshape the stuffed legs and body by hand while still damp; skip the dryer, as heat can flatten or melt synthetic plush fiber.
Store out of direct sunlight to hold color on both the main and contrast yarns, and fluff the faux fur mane and tail between fingers after time in storage.
When it does not look right
- The hooves look uneven or lumpy along the leg instead of sitting flat
- Uneven tension across the 4 bobbles worked into the chain-6 base pulls the hoof out of shape; keep the bobble tension consistent and work the slip stitches back along the chain loosely enough to lie flat.
- The arms or legs flop instead of staying upright off the body
- Thin stuffing through the decrease rounds (round 5 on the legs, before round 6 on the arms) leaves the narrow sections soft; stuff firmly through each decrease round so the taper holds its shape.
Questions people ask
Does the finished horse stand on its own, or is it only a keychain?
The body, head, legs, and arms are all stuffed and joined to hang as a keychain, not to balance on their own. Without extra reinforcement in the legs, treat it as a hanging figure rather than a standing one.
What is the chain-6 section at the start of each leg and arm actually doing?
It is worked flat first, with bobbles along the chain forming the hooves, then slip-stitched back and joined to the base stitch. From there the piece turns into a round tube for the rest of the leg or arm.
Is the contrast color on the muzzle necessary?
It is optional. Working round 8 entirely in the main color still shapes the muzzle bulge through the 2 dc increases, just without the color contrast marking it off from the rest of the face.
Why are the body and head only 2 rounds?
The piece starts from a tight 8 sc magic ring and increases just once with 3 inc, which keeps the whole upper body compact rather than built up gradually like a larger sphere. That keeps the proportions small enough for a keychain.
New patterns, as they are filed
One short email when a batch lands, with the feel of each.