Bead Pattern Generator

How to use the Bead Pattern Generator

1. Drop a picture onto the box, click it to choose a file, or press Try an example picture. Simple pictures with one clear subject work best.
2. Pick a size. Width and height are counted in beads; 29 × 29 fills one large square pegboard. Keep “How the picture fits” on Keep proportions so the picture is not squashed.
3. Choose the colours. Best colours for my picture builds a palette from the picture itself; the generic sets limit you to a fixed range. Lower Maximum colours to simplify the pattern.
4. Check the preview and adjust: tick Make a plain background empty to leave the background without beads, add dithering for photos with smooth shading, or change brightness and contrast.
5. Tick Edit by hand to fix single beads, then download the PNG chart, the colour list (CSV) or the project file, or press Print.

What the generator does with your picture

First the picture is reduced to one pixel per bead. Every bead position gets the average of all the original pixels that fall inside it, which keeps thin lines and small details better than simply picking one pixel. Then each position is matched to a colour from your palette using a perceptual colour difference (CIEDE2000 in the Lab colour space) instead of plain RGB distance, so “close” means close to the eye.

With the adaptive palette the generator finds the dominant colours of your picture (k-means clustering) and names each one after the nearest colour in a generic 48-colour set. With a fixed set it keeps the colours that represent your picture best and drops the others one at a time until your maximum is reached.

How big should the pattern be?

Size decides both the detail and the effort. Every extra bead of width also adds a column of height, so the bead count grows with the square of the size. This table uses standard 5 mm (midi) beads.

Use the bead calculator to turn a size into beads, bags and boards, and read the guide to bead sizes and pegboards for the details.

Tips for a cleaner pattern

• Crop first. A face that fills the frame needs far fewer beads than the same face in the middle of a wide photo.
• Pick strong shapes. High contrast and a calm background read well; busy backgrounds turn into noise. Tick “Make a plain background empty” for subjects on a plain wall or sky.
• Use fewer colours. Eight to sixteen colours usually gives a readable pattern; going past twenty-five mostly adds sorting work.
• Use dithering sparingly. It mixes two colours to imitate shades, which helps with sunsets and skin but can look noisy at small sizes. Leave it off for logos and cartoons.
• Finish by hand. “Remove single stray beads” absorbs isolated beads; fix details such as eyes with the pencil.

What you can download

• PNG chart — the pattern with a legend listing every colour’s number, name, hex code and bead count.
• Bead list (CSV) — the same list for a spreadsheet.
• Copy shopping list — plain text with about 10% spare beads per colour.
• Save project (.json) — reopen it in the bead pattern maker or the bead calculator later.
• Print — the chart with its colour list on paper.

Counts are exact for the pattern on screen and update straight away when you edit beads by hand.

About the colours

The generic sets here are not copies of any manufacturer’s colour chart and are not matched to Perler, Hama, Artkal or other brand numbers. Every colour has a number in the legend, a name and a hex code. When you shop, compare the hex code or the name with your own beads and choose the closest one — the guide to choosing bead colours shows how.

Perler, Hama, Artkal and other brand names are trademarks of their owners. BeadPatternKit is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Frequently asked questions