This BALLBAND KEYCHAIN CONDOM AMULET was created for the Knit A Condom Amulet online ‘zine.

Keys are the modern equivalent of the amulet. You might leave home without wearing your scarab necklace, but you always take your keys. This little pocket (shown here both open and closed) uses a favorite stitch pattern from the Ballband Dishrag, which is found in Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters’ Guide, by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. The pattern is also found where Kay and Ann first discovered it: on the label of a ball of Peaches & Creme dishcloth cotton yarn. The lanyard-style cord can be finger-knitted to a length that suits how you plan to carry the amulet: around your neck or tethered to your keys. The side seams are joined with single crochet. If you don’t know how to crochet the ordinary way, the pattern explains how to do it with knitting needles. (Kay is only kidding when she calls this technique “cro-Kay”.)