Vinyl Key Fob Tutorial

A little while ago, I had Kate from The Quilter’s Bolt order me some swivel hooks from Emmaline bags, only she got the wrong ones, we’re talking an inch bigger than we expected! When Kate opened up the box she saw that they were actually the 1.5″ ones instead of 1/2″, oops 😉 So I set out to design a tutorial so we could use these bad boys up which is where the Vinyl Key Fob comes in! If you aren’t local to us, you can order these swivel hooks from Emmaline Bags and they even come in a 2 pack, so you can make 2 key fobs!

What you will need:

• A pack of swivel hooks
• Scraps of vinyl (or other heavy fabric such as denim, canvas or upholstery weight!)
• Cotton scraps
• Wonderclips
• Thread
• Marking pen
• Rotary cutter and cutting mat
• Ruler

First we are going to cut our fabric. You will cut the vinyl to 4in x 11in and the cotton to 2in x 11in.

Now lets find the centre of both pieces. With ONLY your cotton outer piece, press the long edges into the centre. No need to pin because we will be coming back to it!

Now we are going to slide the vinyl onto the swivel hook! You want the slit “face up” and don’t worry this will be covered by your cotton strip! Sew across that short end with a seam allowance slightly wider than 1/4in.

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Now finger press that seam open and fold your long edges towards the centre and hold in place with Wonderclips. If you prefer, you can place some double sided tape along your centre line to keep the edges in place!

Now we are going to slide the cotton onto the swivel hook, this time, with slit facing inwards towards the vinyl. Before you sew, open up where you have pressed so that you have the full raw edge open. Sew across that short edge again, this time with a 1/4in seam allowance!

Press open the seam allowance the same as you did for the vinyl, then fold up where you pressed it to the centre! Here comes the tricky part! We are going to flip that cotton onto the vinyl and clip it in place. It’ll take some wiggling, but I promise it will work! Make sure you line up your seams for a cleaner look on the finished product!

Now we get the fun part of stitching down the cotton! If you are using a thick vinyl like I have, you will want to turn it to the “inside” to stitch. (you can see this in the image below) Use a 1/4in seam allowance to top stitch along the edge of the cotton!

Now make sure your seams are close to the swivel hook and sew about 1/4″ away from that seam but ONLY on the cotton. Be sure to back stitch and not to go over the edges of the vinyl! This will give you a nice clean look and be extra sturdy!

Check it out, you now have a key fob or even two! You can change the width measurements depending on the swivel hooks you are using or even the length if you need! These would work great attached to a wallet or even clutch but for me, it’ll help me keep track of my keys 😉

If you make a key fob let me know or share it to my Facebook page! I love seeing what you lovely people create! Also, if you are a lover of Janelle and her Emmaline hardware/patterns, be sure to join her Facebook group “Emmaline Sewing Patterns Group” and share all the goodies you make with her supplies!