Every year I want to make fun Valentine’s crafts, but sometimes the nice ones take too long to make lots of, and I don’t like leaving anyone out. So I decided to make up some key fobs: they’re quick, and pretty, and useful too. I made this cute free printable to turn this quick sew into a gift for your Valentine!
It’s super cheesy, I know, but hey, isn’t Valentine’s Day the perfect time to be cheesy? You’ll find download links toward the bottom of this post.
Key Fob Tutorial
For this project, you’ll need
- Key fob hardware (I get mine from Emmaline Bags)
- scrap piece of fabric at least 5″ x 11″
- scrap of fleece or foam
My key fob hardware is 1.25″ wide, if your hardware is a different size, just adjust the measurements accordingly (cotton will be 4 times the width of the hardware).
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Cut your fabric 5″ x 11″ (it can be slightly longer or shorter depending on your preference, I find 11″ is just right for my wrist)
Cut a piece of foam (Flex Foam or Soft & Stable for example) or fleece interfacing 1″ x 11″ (or whichever length you decided on) Fold the fabric in half, matching long edges, and press. Open the fabric up, fold the raw edges in to meet the center crease, and press again
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Now insert the foam or fleece into one of the folds, and bring folded edges together; press in place
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Sew each long side 1/8″ from the edge, starting with the edge that has the folds meeting. I like to use a longer stitch length here. If you like, add an extra row or two of stitching.
Fold in half, matching short, raw edges. Sew short edges together – I like to do a zig zag stitch here.
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Insert into key fob hardware and clamp closed with pliers or a vice. If you’re using metal pliers, make sure to cover the key fob hardware with something like a tea towel or scrap fleece, to prevent scratching from the pliers. You may also choose to add a small amount of glue before squeezing the hardware shut.
Once your key fob is done, print and cut out your Valentine, punch a hole and take a pretty ribbon to attach it. Voila! A unique and useful Valentine!
I’m including 3 downloads: 1 with pink text, 1 with black text and 1 blank, so you can fill in your own sentiment. The ones with text are PDFs and include 2 keys, side by side. The blank is a jpg, so you can plop it into a Word doc and add your own text or print as is. The PDFs should be printed in landscape.
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I’m happy for you to use these files! Please do not distribute or claim as your own; a link back to my site instead would be awesome, thank you!
As I mentioned above, I get my hardware from Emmaline Bags. If you’re in the UK, you can find them at Bobbin Girl.
Awesome! I don’t have a “valentine” but I will make some for my incredibly sweet and supportive friends.
Those are adorable!!! Great post, I always have to look up the measurements for wristlets!!! for some reason I can never remember how long to make them. I’ll pin this for sure.
I don’t have any of those fobs sooooo I’m wondering if a slider would work, with rivets to hold it???? what do you think??? worth a shot at least.
You could use a swivel clip to make something similar for sure. Check out Blue Calla’s free Gerbera Clutch for instructions to sew a complete loop. You can download the free pattern here: http://www.happyokapi.ca/blog/free-gerbera-pattern-from-blue-calla
ohhh I see one with a rivet!!! cool. I just got some at Tandy Leather on Wed. so I’m dyeing to try it out.
Great tutorial! You explain things very well!
Thanks Shelby!