Leather Keychain – Great DIY Christmas Gift Idea

If you know someone that loves leather, they will love an easy DIY Christmas gift...a leather keychain! This DIY leather keychain only takes a few minutes to throw together and the result is so cute! There's a tutorial for two different kinds: a leather tassel keychain and a braided leather keychain. Take your pick or make them both!
Making handmade gifts is probably one of my favorite things in the world (for real!). I absolutely LOVE making, giving, and receiving handmade gifts.
There’s something so special about watching someone unwrap a gift that you handmade with love for them!
For today’s DIY Christmas gift idea, I’m sticking with leather.
If you’re a regular Making Manzanita reader, you know that earlier this year I found a way to get FREE leather for my crafts….are you curious?? Hop on over to this post to see how I get free leather for crafting!
The moral of the story is that I’ve got oodles of leather sitting in my garage, so I wanted to come up with some fun ways to make DIY Christmas gifts using my leather stash… and the DIY leather keychain was born.
I also made some leather bookmarks and leather Christmas ornaments with circles and wood beads and leather ornaments that look like mini Christmas trees.
There are a few people on my holiday shopping list that I think would love these leather keychains and then, of course, I’ll be keeping some for myself too…
That is the best part about making cheap DIY Christmas gifts right?! Treating yourself to some extras!!
This leather keychain post contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend anyway! Read my full disclosure here.
Let’s jump right into these DIY leather keychain tutorials!
DIY Leather Keychain #1: Leather Tassel
Supplies for tassel leather keychain:
- Scrap leather (you only need a piece about 8” x 8 ” and you could even go smaller if you wanted)
- Glue
- Keychain pieces (1 lanyard hook and 1 split ring)
- Scissors
- Rotary tool, cutting mat and clear acrylic ruler
Step 1. Cut a square of leather.
Using these awesome crafting scissors, cut a square piece of leather about 8 in x 8 in. You could go smaller if you wanted as well!
Step 2. Mark a line about 1 inch down from the top.
On the backside of the leather, use a pen to mark a line about 1 inch down from the top of the square. This will be your guideline for where your tassel pieces end.
Step 3. Cut 1/4” slits up the leather.
I used a rotary tool and clear acrylic ruler to cut 1/4-inch slits up the leather all the way to the guideline that we drew.
Continue all the way across the square of leather. (If you don’t have a rotary tool, scissors work too!)
Step 4. Attach hanger.
Using a small strip of leather about 1/4” x 3”, glue on the hanger onto the back side of the leather.
Step 5. Glue and roll up the leather tassel.
Add glue all along the top portion of the leather on the backside and start rolling. You’ll really start to see the tassel come together when you start rolling.
Step 6. Attach tassel leather keychain to hoop.
Loop the hanger of the tassel onto a lanyard hook and attach it to a split ring. Both the lanyard hook and split ring can be purchased in this little set of keychain accessories.
Isn’t this leather tassel keychain adorable?! I love how it turned out!
Tassels are pretty trendy right now and so is leather, so this DIY leather keychain is a great idea for a lot of different people on your holiday list this year.
Are you ready to see leather keychain #2??
Leather Keychain #2: Braided Leather
Supplies for braided leather keychain:
- Scrap leather (you only need a piece about 3/4” by 12”)
- Glue
- Keychain pieces (1 8-shaped ring and 1 split ring)
- Scissors
- Rotary tool, cutting mat and clear acrylic ruler
Step 1. Cut a strip of leather.
I really had no idea how long the leather strip needed to be, so I cut it extra long…probably about 2 feet, you probably could get away with a strip only 1 foot long. I ended up cutting off a lot of excess at the end. The width of the strip was 3/4”.
Step 2. Cut slits 1/4 wide.
Leaving about 1 inch at the top (similar to the way we made the leather tassel keychain), cut 3 slits in the leather 1/4” wide.
Step 3. Braid leather.
Next, simply braid the leather down until you get a length you’re happy with. I did about 5-6 inches or so.
Step 4. Secure the end of the braid.
To secure the end of the leather braid, add a drop of glue on each strand of the braid on hold tight. After the braid was secured, I cut off the extra leather.
Step 5. Wrap the end of the braid.
To cover up the glue spots at the end of the braid. I glued another piece of leather around the end. This finished off the braided leather keychain nicely.
Step 6. Secure to a keychain.
Using the larger loop part of the 8-shaped keyring, feed the top of the leather keychain through the hoop and glue it to secure it.
Lastly, I added the 8-shaped keyring to the split ring. Both the 8-shaped keyring and the split ring can be found in this little set of keychain accessories.
This braided leather keychain can probably be whipped up in 5 minutes or so! Seriously, can you think of an easier DIY Christmas gift idea that will ACTUALLY get used?
I love how this braided leather keychain turned out too! I don’t really know which one I like more!
If you’re looking for a simple DIY Christmas gift that you can make in minutes, give these leather keychain tutorials a try. You’ll even have time to make yourself a couple.
Which leather keychain is your favorite???
Let me know in the comments below.
Related: Looking for more Christmas gift ideas?
- DIY Leather Bookmarks – Easy Handmade Christmas Gifts
- 40+ Cheap Gift Ideas You Can Make For Less Than $10
- Nail Polish Gift Idea with Free Printable
- DIY Bottle Opener – Gift Idea For Him
- How To Make Marble Coasters With Leftover Tiles
- Fabric Christmas Ornaments Made With Homespun Fabric – 4 Different Tutorials
- Relaxation Basket Ideas (with printable gift basket tags!)
- How To Make A DIY Bathtub Tray
- DIY Desk Calendar & Wooden Pencil Holder (with Free Woodworking Plans)
- DIY Lavender Vanilla Lip Scrub
DIY Leather Keychains: How to Make A Tassel & Braided Leather Keychain
If you know someone that loves leather, they will love easy DIY Christmas gift…a leather keychain! This DIY leather keychain only takes a few minutes to throw together and the result is so cute!
Materials
- Scrap leather
- Glue
- Keychain pieces
Instructions
For Tassel Leather Keychain
- Cut square of leather about 8" x 8""
- Mark line about 1 inch down from the top on the backside of the leather.
- Cut 1/4'' slits up the leather all the way up to the line.
- Attach hanger (strip of leather about 1/4" x 3") with glue on the backside of the leather.
- Glue and roll up leather tassel.
- Attach tassel leather keychain to lanyard hook and attach to split ring.
For Braided Leather Keychain
- Cut strip of leather about 3/4 wide and as long as you want (1 - 2 feet).
- Cut slits 1/4" wide up the leather leaving about 1 in ch at the top uncut.
- Braid leather.
- Secure end of braid with drop of glue.
- Wrap end of braid with another small piece of leather to cover end.
- Secure to keychain.
I don’t know which keychain I like more, the tassel or the braid. Both are fabulous! Thanks for the tutorial!
Of course Dana! Thanks for your comment!
I love these! They’re very stylish but also a totally useful gift at the same time. Thanks for sharing!
Of course, thanks for your comment Cat!
I’m sitting here kicking myself for giving away the old leather coat that was way out of style. These are so simple to make yet brilliant and beautiful. I need to head to the thrift store and buy supplies (aka old out of style leather jacket) to make a few for my family/friends.
Bummer!!! Yes, I’m sure you could find some other leather jacket at the thrift store. I got my free leather by skinning a couch of Craigslist that someone was giving away!
I have just started crafting with leather. thanks for these ideas.
Thanks Sue! I love working with leather! 🙂
Definitely the braided one!
Thanks Janice. I love the braided one too 🙂
Hi Chelsea,
This leather key chain idea is fabulous! I’m a big fan of natural elements and I think I have more than a few friends who would love a gift like this. Perfect!
They are so easy to make 🙂 Thanks for your comment Patti!
These are great! I’m planning a leather project for next week. We’ll see how it goes!
Leather projects are so much fun! Good luck with yours.
Love the leather tassel especially!!
The tassel keychain is so much fun!
These look great! I love both together actually. 🙂
Me too 🙂 Thanks Angela!
Cute idea! I’ve had grand crafty plans to make a tassel for a bag zipper pull that broke. It’s yet to happen, lol! This is giving me inspiration, esp. the 5 minute part. Visiting from Handmade Holidays.
At 5 minutes, there’s really no excuse not to make! They are just so simple 🙂
I love this! Especially the tassel one! I am always fumbling for my keys in my purse – this would be perfect. Simple and so pretty!
I love that they are a little big and bulky too so that I can find my keys easier 🙂
Oh, I love these leather keychains. So cool made out of leather. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for your comment Monika 🙂
I love the smell of leather. I think both are great designs.
I’m a vegan, so I don’t see myself making this project, but I’m so glad that if you’re *set* on using leather, your site advocates using old, used leather that would otherwise go to the landfill. Skin couches, not animals! 😉
You know, I’ve never actually crafted with leather before…I guess because I’m kind of intimidated by it…but this looks pretty easy! And my sister would love that tassel keychain. Maybe I’ll give it a try! Thanks for the inspiration!
This looks soo pretty, I love the idea! And adding some charms or textile will make the perfect gift for a boho chic girl.
Is there a specific type of glue to use on leather?
We used this glue: http://amzn.to/2yaHM4P. It’s not necessarily made for leather, but it works good. We’ve also had great results using this glue: https://amzn.to/3h5NEnK. They do, however, make a specific leather glue. We just have never used it!