Beaded Sea Turtle KeyChain Pattern - Free Beaded Turtle Keyring Pattern - Fun Beaded Key Rings

Materials Needed:

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You will need one connector such as a
Lanyard hook,
or any type of
Key Ring.

Cord:
You will need about
3 yards of cord for your turtle.
There are lots of different types of cords you can use. We prefer a cord that is 1mm to 2mm thick because it helps your turtle keychain keep it's shape better. Alternatively, you can use a thinner cord and weave a little wire or a pipe cleaner into your keychain turtle to help it keep it's shape that way. Either way works just fine but you can experiment with it to see which method you prefer.

One good choice is
Monofilament Cord
or
2mm metallic cording. Other great choices would be jute or hemp cord, leather necklace cord, rattail cord, shoelaces, ribbon, paracord, or a strong jewelry cord like tigertail.

For ours, we used a green jute cord.

Beads needed:
 59 - Green Pony Beads (We used a marbled green for just the slightest color variances).

 34 - Dark Green Pony Beads.

Other Things Needed:


Glue

Optional: For a stiffer turtle you can include a little wire or a pipe cleaner with your cord to help keep it's shape
 Beading Wire
OR
 Pipe Cleaners

Instructions

1. Find the half way point of the cord or wire you are using and attach it onto the keyring using a lark's head knot (shown in photo).

2. Begin threading the beads onto the cord following the pattern below. To prevent your turtle from sagging in the middle we compensated in the following way:
For a row with an odd number of beads: thread onto your cord 1 bead more than half of the beads that will go on that row. For example, for a row of 7 beads you will thread on 4 beads (one more than half). Using the same cord thread it through the corresponding bead from the last row and then back through the middle bead of the row you are working on and then continue on with your row.
For a row with an even number of beads: Thread on half of the beads and then with your cord go up and wrap your cord around the cord from the previous row, then add the rest of your beads.
The diagrammed images may help you understand what we mean. You can click on either of the the images, here or at the bottom of the page for a larger, better resolution photo.

3. After finishing the pattern tie a double knot or surgeon's knot in the cords at the bottom and apply glue to secure.

(Optional, and probably not needed) 4. Weave your wire or pipe cleaner through one of the widest rows in the middle of your beaded turtle keychain to make it stiffer and hold it's shape.

(Seed beads or E beads can be used in place of pony beads to create smaller characters.)

The illustration below uses red and blue to show you how each cord side is threaded into the beads. Your cord, of course, will be all the same color.