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Make a cheerful Christmas elf with pony beads using our free pattern and step-by-step instructions. The illustrated bead diagram shows the bead placement and cord path to help you weave your elf from his pointed green hat right down to his little black shoes. Make him as a Christmas keychain, or skip the key ring and add a hanging loop to turn him into a beaded Christmas ornament.
This little elf can find plenty to do once he's finished. Hang him on the Christmas tree, use him as a package decoration or stocking stuffer, add him to a wreath or garland, or make them for a classroom or holiday display. Change his hair, clothes or hat colors to make a whole crew of elves, or pair him with Santa, reindeer, snowmen and Christmas trees for a collection of handmade pony bead Christmas decorations.
Here is a fun idea for taking these easy to make characters to another level. Combine several Christmas pony bead characters into a handmade garland, holiday swag or ornament strand. Mix Santas with elves, reindeer, grench, Christmas trees and other holiday designs, then hang them from ribbon or cord, place them into greenery, or space them along a strand of Christmas lights. A beaded Christmas garland can drape across a mantel or doorway, decorate a wall or window, or wrap around a Christmas tree. It could even become a group project, with each person making a different character to add to the finished Christmas decoration.
If you make this project please share your photos with us. With your permission we'll add it to the page and credit it to you.
Pom poms have a much longer history than the craft-store variety might suggest. Decorative tufts of yarn and thread have been used on clothing and accessories for centuries, sometimes as decoration and sometimes to identify particular groups or uniforms. Over time, the pom pom made its way from clothing into home decorating, toys and crafts. Today they range from traditional yarn pom poms to the small, fuzzy craft pom poms available in almost every imaginable color and size.
21 - Green Pony Beads (Used for the elf's hat, shirt and arms.)
10 - Yellow Pony Beads (Used for the hat trim, belt buckle and pants.)
6 - Brown Pony Beads (We used brown for the elf's hair. A different shade of yellow, or a gold glitter would work well.)
9 - Black Pony Beads (Used for the elf's eyes, belt and shoes.)
7 - White Pony Beads (Used for the elf's collar and cuffs.)
11 - Beige or Tan Pony Beads (Used for the elf's face, nose and hands. )
1 - Key Ring
5 feet of smooth 2mm leather cord, pony bead cord, plastic lacing, satin cord, or similar stringing material.
Scissors
Ruler or Measuring Tape
Craft Glue
1. Locate the halfway point of your cord or lacing and fold it in half. Attach the folded cord to your key ring using a lark's head knot as shown in the photo. You should now have two cords of about the same length hanging from the key ring.
2. Using the bead diagram for the Elf keychain located at the bottom of these instructions, begin weaving the rows of beads one row at a time. Pass one cord through the row of beads, then pass the other cord through the same beads from the opposite direction as shown in the illustration. Pull both cords until the new row rests against the previous one.
3. Continue following the Elf pattern from the top of his hat downward, to the nose. There is a little bit of difference where his nose goes. One side of your cord will pass through the row as usual. The other side of the cord, represented with the blue in the diagram, will go through the first 3 beads of the row, come out to the front, add another beige bead and then loop right back into the same 3rd bead and continue to the end of the row. This bead ends up sitting on the outside of the row. It will probably take a little working with the cord to get it to sit where it should in proportion to his face. Be sure to pull out the slack that sometimes happens on steps like this.
Note: The tension of your cord does make a difference. The rows should sit snugly together without being pulled so tightly that your elf begins to curl or twist. If a row doesn't want to sit straight, loosen it slightly, straighten the beads with your fingers and then pull the slack out again.
4. His arms are done using a single cord strand. Feed the 5 beads onto your cord. At the end loop your cord around the outside of the beige bead and feed it back through the other 4 beads, all the way back to the body. Repeat with the other cord for the other arm.
5. Continue to the bottom of the elf pattern. I like to finish these keychains so that the least amount of knotting shows so with this in mind, on the last row, feed each cord through only 2 of the 3 beads. Both cords will end up on each side of the center bead. Pull out the slack and tie together at the center bead.
Below are two options for finishing your elf. You can bring the cords out on opposite sides as shown in the first photo and tie them off separately, or follow the alternate cord path shown in the second photo to bring both ends out together and finish with one knot, making the knot less prominent.
6. Tie the cords together securely with a surgeon's knot or a good double knot. Add a small drop of craft glue to the knot to prevent it from coming undone during normal usage. Let the glue dry, then trim away the excess cord.
The diagram below uses blue and green to show the paths of the two ends of the cord. Click the diagram to open a larger version whenever you need a closer look.
Carry your elf with you as a keychain or backpack charm, hang him from a rear view mirror, or turn him into a Christmas ornament. Pony bead elves also make fun little decorations for gift packages, garlands, wreaths, mantels, windows and holiday displays. Make a few elves in different colors, or add Santa, reindeer and Christmas trees to build a collection of handmade bead characters for a classroom tree, family Christmas tree or anywhere else that could use a little Christmas cheer.
Looking for more Christmas pony bead projects? Here are more free patterns to make for ornaments, keychains and handmade Christmas decorations.
