How to Make a Keychain with Natural Wood Beads and a Tassel

Boho style keychains are so fun and cute. Plus it turns out they are pretty easy to make. The natural wood beads paired with a soft suede tassel is perfect to decorate your purse, backpack, or bag.

To make boho style beaded keychains you will need a keyring, natural wood beads, suede cord, and embroidery floss. This easy diy takes approximately 5 minutes to make after you gather your supplies.

Get more great craft ideas here!

This was a project I wasn’t even intending to make, but got inspired looking through various macrame projects.

While this isn’t a macrame diy, it falls into the bohemian category – or at least I think so! Whatever style you want to call it, it’s certainly fun!

I literally had everything I needed on hand for this super cute keychain. But, I tend to keep way too many craft items around the house.

Know that you can vary the specific materials for your keychain, so you may just have everything YOU need lying around your home.

Neutral hues were what I chose, but you could mix up colors any way you’d like.

The natural wood beads turned out really cute and I love the texture of the suede leather cord tassel. However, you could easily use embroidery thread for the tassel and it would still be adorable.

Related: How to Make a Bookmark with a Tassel

1. Tie Cord onto Keyring

I used a simple knot to attach the suede cord to the key ring. In the process of deciding on the kind of knot I should use, I got a bit distracted by a site that shows ALL different types of knots.

It likely won’t matter, but in case you want the perfect knot for your keychain, you can always read more on how to tie knots. A double knot would certainly work.

When attaching your cord, you will want to make sure you allow both ends of the cord to hang down as you will use these to tie onto the tassel later. 

2. How to String Wood Beads onto Cord

When making your keychain: to string the beads onto your cord, simply thread the end of the beads onto both pieces of your cord and push them all the way to the keyring / clip to give you a row of beads.

Initially, I imagined using a tiny pony bead between the natural wood beads. BUT, after getting started, I felt like simple was better for this keychain.

A variety of beads could be used, just find something you love at your local craft store and you’re all set.

In my case, I added three beads in a row to the suede leather cords.

The wood beads I linked to are a tad bit different than the ones I had on hand. Mine didn’t have holes that went all the way through, so I had to take an extra step to drill a hole!

Not a big deal, but that takes a little extra time and if you can avoid that, I certainly would.

When choosing your beads be aware that there will be some with smaller holes and others with bigger holes. You will want to ensure the ends of your leather will fit through the beads, so just select a good size for that.

3. Trim Cord to Preferred Length for Your Keychain

Once you determine your perfect length, cut the excess cord with scissors. Let me advise you to leave them a bit longer than what you want the end result to be. You can always trim more later, but you cannot add length back!

After you have added your beads is a good time to measure the length of cord you want your keychain to be. If I’m being honest, I didn’t measure mine;-) Just ‘eyeballing’ it worked fine for me.

Next up is making the fun tassel!

4. How to Make a Suede Leather Tassel and Attach to Keychain

Making a suede tassel is no different than making any other tassel. Simply loop the cord several times (~6) and tie the looped cord with a knot, at the center, directly under the wood beads. If you prefer to have perfect loops, wrap the cord around a cardboard cutout.

You will be tying the looped cord (or string) with the cord pieces you just trimmed in the previous step.

Suede is a bit more difficult to tie and manipulate than regular string, but not terribly challenging.

5. Trim the Ends of the Looped Cord for an Even Tassel

Cut through the loops and trim the edges of your string (in this case, the cord) to ensure the ends of your tassel are even. Then adjust tassel shape.

Since I was dealing with suede, I actually liked the ends of the leather to not be perfectly even. It’s up to you how particular you want to be with even tassel ends.

6. Finish the Tassel Neck by Wrapping String Around Top

To finish off the tassel: tie a knot at the top of the tassel neck using embroidery floss. Then wrap the floss around the neck of the tassel several times and tie in knot to complete.

The color combination of cream embroidery floss and brown leather added to the boho look. Therefore, I left the ends of the embroidery thread the same as the ends of the tassel.

Trim the edges of your tassel as needed and you are finished!

Now…to decide which purse I want to use to display my new suede tassel keychain!

The keychain is really fun on the zipper pull of backpacks and purses.

DIY projects are always the best projects. Every crafter loves a bit of creativity. This is an easy project for kids, too! You could easily modify it for bracelets or necklaces. 

Have a great week and happy keychain making!