Fuse Bead Pattern Maker

What counts as a fuse bead?

A fuse bead is a short plastic tube, usually around 5 mm, that softens under the heat of a household iron and bonds to its neighbors. In the US people often just say "Perler beads", in the UK and much of Europe "Hama beads", and many craft shops sell them as "melty beads". They're all the same idea.

Pick your brand (or don't)

You can make a pattern before you've bought a single bead. Pick a brand in "Bead brand" and the photo is matched to that brand's real colors and codes. Switch brands and it re-matches instantly, so you can compare which one renders your picture best.

Which should you choose? Use whatever is in your bead box. If you're starting from scratch, buy what's easiest to get locally. If you want photo-realistic portraits, Artkal's extra colors help. For bold, simple designs, any brand works.

Dedicated pages with brand tips: Perler bead pattern maker · Hama bead pattern maker · Artkal bead pattern maker

Bead sizes: mini, midi and maxi

Most fuse beads come in three size classes, and each class has its own pegboards:

• Mini: about 2.5–2.6 mm. Super detailed, needs tweezers and patience.
• Standard / Midi: about 5 mm. The size most patterns, boards and kits are made for. BeadSheet's palettes are all for this class.
• Maxi / Biggie: about 10 mm. Chunky beads for young kids.

Hama lists its Mini at 2.5 mm, while Artkal's minis are 2.6 mm, so mini boards and beads aren't guaranteed to fit across brands. Standard 5 mm beads are generally treated as interchangeable on each other's large square boards.

Planning a fuse bead pattern

Size: think in pegboards

The classic large square board has 29 × 29 pegs, which comes to about 14.5 cm (5.7 in) per side with 5 mm beads. Choose the number of boards wide and tall, and BeadSheet shows the finished size in cm and inches before you start. Common layouts:

• 1 board (29 × 29, 841 beads): coasters, magnets, keychains
• 4 boards (58 × 58, 3,364 beads): pets, flowers, names, small portraits
• 9 boards (87 × 87, 7,569 beads): detailed portraits and wall art

Non-square layouts (2 × 1, 1 × 2, 3 × 2, 2 × 3) and custom sizes up to 200 × 200 beads are available too. Got a board with a different peg count? Type it in and the PDF splits the design to match.

→ Ready-made presets: Perler 29x29 · Perler 58x58 · Hama 58x58

Colors: fewer is often better

Every extra color is another bag to buy and another pile to sort. Use the "Max colors" cap: a small design rarely needs more than 12, and a four-board portrait usually looks great at 20–30. Switch on dithering only for gradients like skies or skin, because it scatters single beads that take longer to place.

Already made pixel art? Keep it 1:1

If your image is already a pixel-art sprite, choose Custom size and enter the sprite's exact pixel width and height. Then set colors to No limit and leave dithering off. Every pixel becomes exactly one bead, and each color snaps to the closest real bead. Transparent pixels in a PNG are left as empty pegs.

From pattern to finished piece

1. Print. The PDF opens with an overview and the complete bead list, then gives one page per pegboard. Column and row numbers run across the whole design, a mini map shows which board you're on, and each page lists the colors and counts for that board. Want a 1:1 template? Tick "Print beads at ~actual size (5 mm)" and print at 100%.
2. Place the beads. Work one board at a time. Tap a color in the bead list to highlight it in the preview. It's an easy way to place one color at a time.
3. Fuse. Cover with ironing paper and use a dry iron, no steam. Each brand recommends something slightly different. Perler suggests a medium setting with a slow circular or back-and-forth motion. Hama suggests the cotton setting, keeping the iron moving. Artkal suggests 160–180 °C, holding about 2–3 seconds at a time. Always test a small patch first. An adult should do the ironing.
4. Flatten. Let the piece cool under a heavy book so it doesn't curl.