Beaded Santa Claus Keychain – Free Pony Bead Christmas Pattern

Materials Needed:

• 1 - Lanyard Hook OR 1 - Key Ring

• Cord - Approximately 2 yards

  There are lots of different types of cord you can use for your beaded Santa. We prefer cord about 1 1/2mm to 2mm thick because it helps your Santa keychain keep its shape. Alternatively, you can use a thinner cord and weave a little wire or a pipe cleaner into your keychain for extra support. Either method works, it just depends on which you have available or which you prefer.

  Monofilament Cord OR 2mm Metallic Cord
• 34 - Red Pony Beads
• 26 - White Pony Beads
• 5 - Beige Pony Beads
• 2 - Green Glitter Pony Beads for Christmas colored eyes. If you are good at drawing you can substitute the eyes for the beige color and draw them on. (I can't draw well enough.)
• 8 - Black Pony Beads used for his belt and boots.
• 2 - Gray Pony Beads for Santa's belt buckle. You could use a gold or silver pearl or even a clear glitter pony bead.

• Glue (We used super glue.)
• Scissors
• Ruler or Measuring Tape

Instructions

1. Locate the halfway point of your cord and fold it in half. Attach the folded cord to your key ring or lanyard hook using a lark's head knot as shown in the photo. You should now have two cords hanging from the key ring.

NOTE: Some cords aren't very cooperative when making a lark's head knot. Alternatively you can thread your cord through the loop of your lanyard or keyring, find the middle again, and then thread both ends of your cord through the first white bead of Santa's hat.

2. Using the Santa Claus bead diagram at the bottom of these instructions, begin weaving the rows of beads, starting at the top of Santa's hat. For each row, thread the beads onto one cord, then pass the other cord back through the same row of beads from the opposite direction, as shown in the illustration.

Note: The tension of your cord does make a difference. The rows should sit snugly together without being pulled too tightly. The rows of your Santa will begin to bunch up, curl or twist if it is too tight, and they'll sag if your tension is too loose or if your cord isn't very big. If a row doesn't sit straight, loosen it, straighten the beads with your fingers and pull the slack out again.

3. Continue following the Santa Claus diagram, adding the beads row by row to form his red hat, face, white beard, red suit, and black boots.

4. Each of Santa's legs are done with one strand of your cord. You'll add the 6 beads for his leg, 2 red, 2 white, then 2 black, onto your cord and then weave your way back up to his jacket. His leg isn't finished yet but it is easier to finish it after both legs are threaded. Repeat with the 2nd leg. To finish the legs you are going to thread the end of your cord back through the last 4 beads of the previous row and pull the slack up so that his legs sit against the previous row and the excess cord is on the outside bead of the jacket row. Tie off each cord end to the cord that's already there and apply a small drop of glue to the knot to help keep it from coming undone. Trim the excess cord after the glue has dried.

Your beaded Santa Claus is ready to spread some Christmas cheer! Hang him on your Christmas tree, add him to a festive window display, decorate a Christmas package, or give him as a little holiday gift. And of course, his handy lanyard hook makes it easy to take Santa along wherever you go!

The illustration below uses red and blue to show how each side of your cord is woven through the beads. Click the image to see the larger diagram. The pink stars indicate where your cord will end and you'll tie your knots.