Crochet Couple Bear Keychain Free Pattern With Hearts

Valentine swaps and anniversary gifts suit a matched pair of teal and cobalt bears, each one clutching its own heart. Legs join mid body for a natural seated pose, and a loop on top of each head lets the couple bear keychain hang together from one ring.

Contrasting hearts and stubby arms make the Crochet Couple Bear Keychain quietly addictive to work up. The heart comes together faster than expected. Sewing the arms over it is the part that clicks. You finish one and immediately cast on the second Crochet Couple Bear Keychain in another colour.

Crochet Couple Bear Keychain

Head and body build as separate pieces that join at the neck, which keeps each part manageable and lets you get the stuffing right before sewing. Two small legs join mid-way through the body round, giving the bear a natural seated pose without any extra shaping. My pair uses teal for one bear and cobalt blue for the other, each with a cream muzzle and black safety eyes. The teal bear holds a pink velvet heart and the blue bear holds a crocheted mustard yellow heart. Keyring loops sit at the top of each head so both bears hang together from one ring.

Materials

• Yarn in teal for the first bear: head, body, legs, arms and ears.
• Yarn in cobalt blue for the second bear: head, body, legs, arms and ears.
• Cream or off white yarn for the muzzle on both bears.
• Red or pink fabric heart for the teal bear. My version uses a small pink velvet heart rather than a crocheted one.
• Mustard yellow yarn for the crocheted heart held by the blue bear.
• Black safety eyes, one pair per bear.
• Black embroidery thread for the nose on each muzzle.
• Fiberfill stuffing.
• Two keyring loops, one per bear.
• Tapestry needle, stitch markers, scissors.

Difficulty and Time

Easy to confident beginner. The leg join is the only step that needs attention. From my own making, each bear takes around one and a half to two hours, so the pair runs to three to four hours total.

Abbreviations

• MR means magic ring.
• ch means chain.
• sc means single crochet.
• inc means increase, two single crochet in the same stitch.
• dec means decrease, single crochet two stitches together using the invisible decrease.
• sl st means slip stitch.
• st or sts means stitch or stitches.
• FO means fasten off.

The head, body, ears and arms are all worked in joined rounds. At the end of each round, sl st into the first stitch, ch 1 and start the next round in the same stitch. The heart is worked in a continuous spiral.

The Pattern

Head

• Round 1: MR (magic ring), ch 1 and work 6 sc into the ring. Sl st to join [6 sts].
• Round 2: Ch 1, work 6 inc (increase). Sl st to join [12 sts].
• Round 3: Ch 1, work (1 sc, 1 inc) repeat 6 times. Sl st to join [18 sts].
• Round 4: Ch 1, work (2 sc, 1 inc) repeat 6 times. Sl st to join [24 sts].
• Round 5: Ch 1, work (3 sc, 1 inc) repeat 6 times. Sl st to join [30 sts].
• Rounds 6 to 8: Ch 1, work 30 sc. Sl st to join for 3 rounds [30 sts per round].
• Round 9: Ch 1, work 8 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc, 1 inc, 9 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc, 1 inc, 7 sc. Sl st to join [34 sts]. The four increases push the cheeks outward and are what give the bear its round chubby face.
• Round 10: Ch 1, work 34 sc. Sl st to join [34 sts].
• Round 11: Ch 1, work 2 sc, then (1 sc, 1 dec (decrease)) repeat 5 times, 2 sc, then (1 sc, 1 dec) repeat 5 times. Sl st to join [24 sts]. Insert the safety eyes before this round closes further. Position them on the front of the head between Rounds 7 and 8, with the cream muzzle area centred below them.
• Round 12: Ch 1, work (2 sc, 1 dec) repeat 6 times. Sl st to join [18 sts].
• Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing. Stuff the head firmly with fiberfill.

Muzzle

Work a small flat circle in cream yarn and sew it to the front of the head between the eyes. Embroider a small black nose at the centre top of the muzzle using black thread, working vertical stitches to form a filled triangle shape. Both of my bears have the same cream muzzle with a black embroidered nose.

Legs and Body

Leg 1:

• Round 1: MR, ch 1 and work 5 sc into the ring. Sl st to join [5 sts].
• Round 2: Ch 1, work 5 inc. Sl st to join [10 sts].
• Rounds 3 to 4: Ch 1, work 10 sc. Sl st to join for 2 rounds [10 sts per round]. Fasten off and cut the yarn. Weave in the end.

Leg 2 and Body Join:

• Rounds 1 to 4: Repeat the instructions for Leg 1 exactly, but do not cut the yarn.
• Round 5: Connect to Leg 1 with a sl st. Ch 1 and work (4 sc, 1 inc) repeat 4 times around both legs. Sl st to join [24 sts]. Count this round twice before moving on. An uneven join here throws the body off centre.
• Rounds 6 to 8: Ch 1, work 24 sc. Sl st to join for 3 rounds [24 sts per round].
• Round 9: Ch 1, work (3 sc, 1 inc) repeat 6 times. Sl st to join [30 sts].
• Round 10: Ch 1, work 30 sc. Sl st to join [30 sts].
• Round 11: Ch 1, work (3 sc, 1 dec) repeat 6 times. Sl st to join [24 sts].
• Round 12: Ch 1, work (2 sc, 1 dec) repeat 6 times. Sl st to join [18 sts].
• Round 13: Ch 1, work 18 sc. Sl st to join [18 sts]. Fasten off and weave in the tail. Stuff the body firmly.

Ears (Make 2 per bear)

• Round 1: MR, ch 1 and work 6 sc into the ring. Sl st to join [6 sts].
• Round 2: Ch 1, work (1 sc, 1 inc) repeat 3 times. Sl st to join [9 sts]. Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Arms (Make 2 per bear)

• Round 1: MR, ch 1 and work 6 sc into the ring. Sl st to join [6 sts].
• Rounds 2 to 5: Ch 1, work 6 sc. Sl st to join for 4 rounds [6 sts per round]. Fasten off leaving a long tail. Arms do not need stuffing.

Crocheted Heart (For the Blue Bear)

Work in a continuous spiral with mustard yellow yarn. Top bumps (make 2):

• Round 1: MR and work 6 sc [6 sts].
• Round 2: Work 6 inc [12 sts].
• Round 3: Work 12 sc [12 sts]. Fasten off the first bump. Make the second bump but do not fasten off.

Joining the heart:

• Round 4: Sl st the two inner stitches of both bumps together to close the gap, then work 24 sc evenly around the outside edge of both bumps [24 sts].
• Round 5: Work 24 sc [24 sts].
• Round 6: Work 4 sc, 2 dec, 8 sc, 2 dec, 4 sc [20 sts].
• Round 7: Work 20 sc [20 sts].
• Round 8: Work 3 sc, 2 dec, 6 sc, 2 dec, 3 sc [16 sts].
• Round 9: Work 2 sc, 2 dec, 4 sc, 2 dec, 2 sc [12 sts]. Stuff the heart with fiberfill.
• Round 10: Work 6 dec [6 sts]. Fasten off leaving a tail. Weave through the front loops of the remaining 6 stitches, pull tight to close the hole and weave in the end.

Assembly

• Sew the head onto the top of the body using the long yarn tail on the head. Align the joining seams of both pieces so they face the back, then sew stitch for stitch through all 18 stitches for a clean join.
• Sew the ears to the top of the head, approximately 3 rounds down from the magic ring centre, one on each side.
• Sew the arms to the left and right sides of the body just below the neckline where the head meets the body. Tie the yarn tails together at the back and hide the ends inside the body.
• For the teal bear, place the pink velvet heart between the two arms and sew it into place at the sides and lower edge so the bear appears to hug it.
• For the blue bear, place the mustard crocheted heart between the two arms and sew it on the same way.
• Attach the keyring loop to the top centre of each head, threading through the magic ring closure or the nearest stitches and knotting securely.

Tips

Pin the ears symmetrically before sewing and check both positions from directly above the head. One ear a round higher than the other reads immediately on a face this round. For the muzzle, sew it down with small stitches all the way around the edge rather than just at the corners, because an unsecured edge lifts under the nose embroidery. Keep the heart stuffing firm so it holds its shape between the arms rather than flattening against the body.

Customization

• Make both hearts crocheted in matching or contrasting colours rather than mixing fabric and yarn.
• Add a small embroidered smile below the nose on each muzzle for a different expression.
• Personalise each bear with a different colour pair for a custom couple gift.
• Chain a longer connecting cord between the two bears so they hang together on one keyring, chaining until the cord reaches your preferred length and attaching both ends securely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the body look twisted after the leg join? An uneven slip stitch at Round 5 pulls the body to one side. Make sure the sl st joining the two legs sits exactly at the inner meeting point of both, and count Round 5 fully before continuing. How do I keep the heart from flopping away from the body? Sew the back of the heart to the body at two or three points, not only the sides. One anchor stitch at the top centre of the heart and one at the bottom keeps it facing forward. Can I make both bears the same colour? Yes. The pattern is identical for each bear, so any colour combination works. Two of the same colour with different heart colours still reads as a pair.