You may have noticed that when possible I like to tie my posts to something topical. Today is National Cherry Pie Day and amazingly enough I do have a cherry pie-related craft to share!

It all began with a craft exchange in an online group. Members would fill in a little questionnaire to summarize their favorite colors and fandoms and the like and then were paired with others in the same geographical area (for shipping considerations) and would make them something related to their faves. One year I was matched with someone who included Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek and Supernatural in hers. I relate hard to that list and wondered if there was a way I could create something that would incorporate more than just one of the fandoms.

The result was these reversible keychains.

Made from plastic canvas and yarn, these were a quick project but SO MUCH FUN to make! I started by thinking about an iconic symbol from each show. For Firefly it was immediately Jayne’s hat, and then I wondered what would be the same shape/size. R2D2 fit perfectly and I love how it looks like he’s got a pompom on his head. For Star Trek I thought a Tribble would be funny but what round shape would work from Supernatural? I was hesitant to make any kind of pentagram or devil’s trap because it might offend the recipient. Of course there was another perfect round answer – Dean’s fave – good ol’ cherry pie!

I drafted out each shape in Excel to get the sizing down and make sure I had enough room for the designs. I then cut out each shape twice from plastic canvas and cross-stitched them with yarn from my stash. To create the lattice top for the pie I did 6 crochet chain lengths and used the tails at either end to secure them into place.

Once each shape was complete I held them back-to-back and used black yarn to whipstitch around the outside edges to sew them together (in progress in the lower pics above). This hid all the messy ends on the inside as well as gave each item a defined outline. I also used the edge stitching as an opportunity to add a jump ring, stitching a few times around the ring to secure it in place. This allowed me to attach a claw hook (lobster) keychain ring to each grouping so the recipient could hang these fandom charms from her keys or bag if she liked.

Final steps were to make and attach the pompom and use a craft needle to tease out any trapped ends of the fun fur yarn to make the tribble as fluffy as possible.

This project was so much fun to make and gift and I was thrilled that the recipient loved them and immediately attached them to her Tae Kwon Do gear bag and backpack. For both gifter and giftee this one was a hit!

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