Cute animal keychains can be made from colorful pony beads.
Children have an admirable fascination with furry, feathered and finned creatures that many adults simply cannot fathom. They like to portray their animal friends in their artwork and crafts, such as the popular beaded critter keychain. This simple craft can be made from pony beads and string found at your local art supply store.
Instructions
1. Decide what critter you want to create. Among the many common examples are lizards, rabbits or cats. There are several websites that contain patterns to follow, so if you are a beginner it may be worthwhile to download and follow a pattern. The example of a penguin will be used in this article.
2. Find the middle of a 3-yard piece of string and tie a knot there. Place the string on the table with the knot at the top--away from you--and the two ends facing toward you. The strand on your left will be strand 1, and the strand on your right will be strand 2.
3. Place three black pony beads on strand 1. Take strand 2 and also weave this strand through the beads. The two strands have now switched places, and the row of beads has two strands running through it. This pony bead row will be referred to as row 1.
4. Continue the same weaving procedure for the remaining rows, following this pattern:
Row 2: 4 black beads
Row 3: black, 2 orange, black
Row 4: 2 black, orange, 2 black
Row 5: 5 yellow
Row 6: black, white, black, 2 yellow, black, white, black
Row 7: black, white, black, 3 white, black, white, black
Row 8: black, white, black, 4 white, black, white, black
Row 9: black, white, black, 5 white, black, white, black
Row 10: black, white, black, 6 white, black, white, black
Row 11: 2 black, 6 white, 2 black
Row 12: 2 orange, clear, 2 orange
Row 13: 2 orange, clear, 2 orange
5. Tie a knot in each individual strand of string when finished weaving. If desired, add a metal or plastic keychain to knot at the top of the penguin.
