PegpopPhoto to bead pattern
Turn a photo into a fuse bead pattern in real Perler, Hama or Artkal colors: a chart with a symbol for every bead, a bold line at every 29×29 pegboard, color codes and an exact bead count per color. Print it or save it as a PDF. The photo never leaves your device.
Drag on the photo to move the frame onto your subject.
Your bead pattern appears here.
Nothing is uploaded.
Print / PDF: a cover page with the picture and the bead list, then one page per pegboard. Choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog.
| Symbol | Code | Color | Beads |
|---|
A mobile app is on the way
The same pattern maker, on your phone, with your bead stock and progress per board. It isn't in the stores yet; this page stays free.
How it works
- Pick the size. Each cell of the pattern is one bead. A large square pegboard is 29×29 pegs, so the presets are whole boards: 1 board, 2×1, 2×2 and so on. Any other size up to 250×250 works too.
- Frame the photo. Drag the frame onto the subject and zoom in. Each bead becomes the average color of the photo under it.
- Snap to real beads. Every bead is matched to the closest color your brand actually makes, using CIEDE2000, the color difference formula that tracks what the eye sees. If more colors are in use than you allowed, the color that costs the picture least is merged into its neighbor, again and again. Small but distinct details, like eyes, keep their color.
- Clean up. A lone bead with no neighbor of its color takes the color around it, so you don't place hundreds of single beads. Dithering is off by default for the same reason.
The chart shows a symbol and the color on every bead, a bold line at every pegboard edge, and bead numbers 5, 10, 15… along each board. The legend gives the brand code, the color name and how many beads of it you need.
Perler, Hama midi or Artkal S?
All three are 5 mm fuse beads that fit the same 29×29 large square pegboards, so the chart works on any of them. Pick the brand whose beads you have or will buy: the colors and codes in the legend are that brand's own.
- Perler — common in the US. Codes like 80-19001 (White).
- Hama midi — common in Europe. Codes like H01 (White). (Hama mini and maxi are other sizes; this tool uses midi.)
- Artkal S — the 5 mm Artkal series, with the largest color range of the three. Codes like S01 (White).
Colors come from beadcolors, an open table maintained by the bead community: 103 Perler, 92 Hama midi and 199 Artkal S colors. Glitter, pearl, neon, glow, translucent and metallic beads are left out by default because they look nothing like a flat color once fused.
Tips for good bead patterns
One clear subject
A pet, a face, a logo. At 29 beads across there is no room for a busy background.
Crop tight
Zoom in until the subject fills the frame. Every bead on empty space is one taken from the details.
Fewer colors
Start with 12. Drop to 8 if the chart looks noisy, go up for portraits on 2×2 boards or more.
Iron board by board
For multi-board pieces, build each board from its own page, then iron them together with the boards still joined.
Pixel mosaics and other uses
The chart is a pixel grid with a color key, so it also works as a plan for pixel mosaics made of tiles, blocks or squares of paper: use the Chart PNG and the color list. For a photo in pixel-art style without bead colors, try the photo to pixel art converter on pixpail.mef.space. Cross-stitchers: a DMC version of this tool is on hoopsy.mef.space.
Questions
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The pattern is made in your browser on this page. The photo is never sent to a server, and the tool keeps working offline once the page has loaded.
Which bead brands are supported?
Perler, Hama midi and Artkal S, all 5 mm beads. Each color in the legend has the brand's code and name, taken from the open beadcolors table (github.com/maxcleme/beadcolors). Glitter, pearl, neon, glow, translucent and metallic colors are left out unless you untick Solid colors only.
How big is a pegboard?
The large square pegboard of Perler, Hama and Artkal is 29×29 pegs, about 14.5 cm (5.7 in) of fused beads. The chart draws a bold line at every 29 beads and prints one board per page, so you can build board by board.
How many beads do I need?
The legend counts the beads of every color exactly. One full 29×29 board takes 841 beads; buy a little extra of each color for mistakes.
How many colors should a bead pattern have?
8 to 16 colors is a good start for one or two boards. More colors keep more shading but mean more bags to buy and more single beads to place.
What does dithering do?
Dithering mixes beads of two colors in a pattern to fake an in-between shade. It helps smooth gradients like skies, but it adds many single beads, so it is off by default.
Are the colors on screen exact?
No screen shows plastic beads exactly. The colors are close approximations from photos and scans collected by the bead community; check doubtful pairs against your real beads.
Is it free?
Yes. No sign-up, no watermark, no limits. A mobile app is in the works.