Perler Bead Pattern Maker

Turn any photo or your own drawing into a Perler bead pattern. Upload a JPG or PNG and the tool matches every peg to real bead colours from Perler, Hama, Artkal or Nabbi, keeps to the colour limit you set, and gives you exact bead counts per colour and per pegboard. Big designs split across 29 × 29 pegboards with numbered boards, and the PDF prints each board at real size, so you can lay it under a clear pegboard and place beads on top. It works for 5 mm midi beads and 2.6 mm mini beads. Clean up the result with a pencil, fill and eraser, or start from a blank grid and draw your own fuse bead pattern. Free, with no sign-up and no watermark, and your pictures stay on your device.

100% private — everything runs in your browser. Your pictures stay in your browser; the PDF, PNG and CSV are made on your device.

How to make a Perler bead pattern

1. Upload a picture, drop it on the box or paste it. Or click “Start with a blank grid” to draw from scratch, or try one of our sample drawings.
2. Choose your bead brand and size. Each list has its own colour codes, and mini beads switch the grid to mini spacing.
3. Set the size in whole pegboards (boards across and down), or in beads wide and high.
4. Move the “Most colours” slider until the pattern looks right, and tick “Remove a plain background” if the picture has one.
5. Clean up with the Pencil, Eraser and Fill tools. In the colour key, Swap or Remove any colour you don’t have.
6. Download the PDF and print it at 100% (Actual size). Check the 10 cm bar with a ruler, slide each sheet under a clear pegboard, and place your beads.

What you can use it for

• Perler bead patterns from family photos, pets and your own artwork
• Hama bead patterns on 29 × 29 boards, with Hama colour numbers
• Large wall pieces split over many pegboards, with numbered boards
• Mini bead designs for earrings, charms and keychains
• Blank grid sheets for sketching a design by hand
• Shopping lists: exact bead counts by colour before you buy

Perler bead patterns from any photo or drawing

Most Perler bead patterns online show someone else’s design. This tool makes yours. Each peg on the board gets one colour, so the picture is sampled once per peg and matched to the nearest bead colour in your chosen list, using a colour-difference measure built around how people see colour. When the picture needs more colours than your limit, the tool drops the colours that would change the picture least, so a small bright detail can survive where a plain average would lose it.

Picture	Good starting size	Most colours
Icon, logo or simple shape	29 × 29	4 to 8
Pixel art or game-style sprite	1 pixel = 1 bead	the sprite’s own colours
Cartoon or line drawing of your own	29 to 58 wide	8 to 16
Pet or face, close crop	58 wide (2 boards)	12 to 20
Photo with a plain background	58 to 87 wide	16 to 30
Busy photo or landscape	87 wide or more	24 to 40

These are starting points. Move the slider and watch the preview: the pattern updates as you go.

Pegboard sizes and finished sizes

Boards	Beads (wide × high)	Beads to fill it	Finished size at 5 mm
1 × 1 board	29 × 29	841	14.5 × 14.5 cm (5.7 × 5.7 in)
2 × 1 boards	58 × 29	1,682	29 × 14.5 cm (11.4 × 5.7 in)
2 × 2 boards	58 × 58	3,364	29 × 29 cm (11.4 × 11.4 in)
3 × 2 boards	87 × 58	5,046	43.5 × 29 cm (17.1 × 11.4 in)
3 × 3 boards	87 × 87	7,569	43.5 × 43.5 cm (17.1 × 17.1 in)
4 × 4 boards	116 × 116	13,456	58 × 58 cm (22.8 × 22.8 in)

Finished size is pegs × peg spacing. Fused pieces can come out very slightly smaller, because the beads draw together as they melt.

Mini boards (52 × 52 pegs)	Beads (wide × high)	Beads to fill it	Finished size at 2.6 mm
1 × 1 board	52 × 52	2,704	13.5 × 13.5 cm
2 × 1 boards	104 × 52	5,408	27 × 13.5 cm
2 × 2 boards	104 × 104	10,816	27 × 27 cm
3 × 2 boards	156 × 104	16,224	40.6 × 27 cm

Boards vary, especially for mini beads. If yours is a different size, choose “Other: count the pegs” and type the pegs across and down.

Fuse bead patterns on many boards

• Each board gets a number, left to right and top to bottom, shown on the preview and on the overview page.
• Every board has its own sheet, with a small map of where it sits and which boards it joins.
• Each sheet lists the beads for that board alone, so you can pour out just what you need. A tick box beside each colour lets you mark it off.
• Boards with no beads are skipped, and the numbers stay the same, so the map still matches.
• A board too big for your paper runs over several sheets at true size. Sheets stay at real size, so they still line up with the pegs.

Hama bead patterns and other bead brands

Colour list	Bead size	Colours	Solid colours	Neon, clear, glow, glitter, pearl, metallic
Perler	5 mm midi	103	102	1
Hama Midi	5 mm midi	92	65	27
Artkal S	5 mm midi	199	173	26
Nabbi	5 mm midi	30	30	none listed
Perler Mini	2.6 mm mini	41	41	none listed
Hama Mini	2.5 mm mini	78	65	13
Artkal C	2.6 mm mini	174	174	none listed

Colour names, codes and RGB values come from the open-source BeadColors list by maxcleme (MIT License). They’re close approximations of the real beads. Special beads are left out of colour matching unless you tick “Allow neon, clear, glow, glitter, pearl and metallic beads”, because they fuse and look different from solid beads.

Perler, Hama, Artkal and Nabbi are trademarks of their owners. This is an independent tool that works with their beads; Made Good Designs is not affiliated with them.

How to iron your fuse beads

• Follow the instructions on your bead pack: they know their beads best.
• Lay ironing paper over the beads, and never touch the iron to the beads or the pegboard directly.
• Use a dry iron on a medium setting, and keep it moving in small circles with light pressure.
• Check often. Stop when the beads have joined but the holes are still open, or carry on a little for a flatter look.
• Let the piece cool under something flat so it doesn’t curl, then lift off the board and iron the other side the same way.
• Practise on a small piece first, because irons vary. An adult should do the ironing for children.

Tips for better bead patterns

• Crop tight. A face that fills the frame reads far better in beads than a whole person in a landscape.
• Use high-contrast pictures, or raise Contrast in the picture settings. Beads flatten soft shading.
• Turn dithering on only for photos with smooth shading. For cartoons and logos, leave it off.
• For exact pixel art, choose “Pixel art: 1 pixel = 1 bead”. Pictures up to 128 pixels switch to it on their own. To draw your sprite first, try the Pixel Art Maker.
• Weaving with seed beads instead? Loom, peyote and brick stitch charts are on the Bead Pattern Maker. For thread, see the Cross Stitch Pattern Maker.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn a picture into a Perler bead pattern?

Upload a JPG, PNG or WebP, pick your bead brand and set the size. The tool samples the picture once per peg and matches each peg to the nearest bead colour. Then adjust the colour limit, tidy any beads with the Pencil, and download the PDF or PNG.

Is this Perler bead pattern maker free?

Yes. Every size, colour list and download is free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on patterns.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. The picture is read and converted in your browser, and nothing leaves your device. Only the list of colours you tick under “Colours I own” is remembered on your own device, so you don’t have to tick it again.

How many beads fit on a Perler pegboard?

A large square board has 29 × 29 pegs, which is 841 beads. At 5 mm per peg that is 14.5 cm (5.7 in) across. Two boards side by side give 58 beads across, and 2 × 2 boards give 3,364 beads.

How do I print a bead pattern at real size?

Choose “Real size”, download the PDF and print with the scale at 100% or “Actual size”, not “Fit to page”. Each board sheet has a 10 cm bar: measure it with a ruler. If it’s 10 cm, the dots line up with the pegs, and you can lay the sheet under a clear pegboard.

Does it work with Hama beads?

Yes. Hama Midi (5 mm) and Hama Mini use Hama colour numbers, written with an H, such as H01 for white: packs show the number alone. Artkal S, Artkal C, Nabbi and Perler Mini lists are there too. Made Good Designs is not affiliated with any of these brands.

Can I mix Perler and Hama beads?

Midi beads from both are about 5 mm, so they sit on the same boards, but their colours differ and they can melt at slightly different rates. Choose one brand’s list for a pattern where you can. Switching the list re-matches every bead to that brand’s nearest colour.

Why does my photo look noisy or speckled?

Too many colours in too few beads. Lower “Most colours”, crop closer, keep “Tidy stray single beads” on and leave dithering off. A bigger grid also helps, because each bead then covers less of the picture.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. Upload from your camera roll and download the PDF to print. On a touch screen the grid starts in Move mode so you can scroll; choose Pencil to draw.

What size are mini beads?

Midi beads are 5 mm. Hama gives its Mini beads as 2.5 mm, and Perler Mini and Artkal C are usually listed at 2.6 mm. The tool sets the spacing for each list, and you can type your own: measure 10 pegs on your board, centre to centre, and divide by 10.

Are the bead colours exact?

They’re close, not exact. The values come from an open-source list measured by people in the bead community, and screens and printers vary. Hold real beads against the chart if a shade matters.

Can I use only the colours I already have?

Yes. Open “Colours I own” and tick your colours, and new patterns use only those. You can also Swap or Remove any colour in the key afterwards, and the counts update straight away.

How many colours should a pattern have?

Fewer than you’d think. Simple shapes look best with 4 to 8 colours, cartoons with 8 to 16, and photos with 16 to 30. The “Tidy stray single beads” option also helps, because lone beads are the fiddliest to place.

How do I remove the background?

Tick “Remove a plain background”. Pegs that match the colour around the edge of the picture become empty pegs, and the “Background match” slider sets how close the match must be. A PNG with a transparent background works too: its clear areas stay empty.

Can I design a fuse bead pattern from scratch?

Yes. Click “Start with a blank grid”, set the boards, and draw with the Pencil, Fill, Line and Box tools. Mirror drawing copies each stroke to the other side, which is handy for symmetrical designs. Save it to your device and open it again later.

Can I print a blank pegboard grid?

Yes. Start with a blank grid and download the PDF: each board prints as an empty dot grid at real size, ready to colour in by hand.

Can I use characters from games or cartoons?

Our samples are our own drawings. For anything else, use pictures you have the right to use; personal crafts are one thing, but selling pieces based on someone else’s characters can break their rights.