Perler beads, also called fuse beads, are a popular craft material used for making colorful designs by placing small (5x5 mm), plastic beads onto a pegboard and then ironing them to fuse the beads together. They can be made small and simple, or the perler pegboards connect together to be able to make large artwork out of these colorful beads. There are many perler bead patterns available on the internet. There are also many retail perler bead kits available in retail stores or on-line.
Something you may not know, is perler beads can also be used as regular beads to string onto string, wire, or pipe cleaners (for a beaded bracelet or necklaces), or used in making a colorful craft, art, jewelry, or a bead pet or 2 - all without ironing. Another bonus is these beads come in many different colors which makes them even more versatile.
Today we are spotlighting a perler bead covered candle (or any straight up and down vase), names and letters, and bead pets using perler beads and string.
The vase covering is done in a peyote pattern and is an excellent size and pattern to begin to learn peyote if you haven’t yet. The vase cover is made and then slipped around a straight vase or candle.
It’s an easy stitch once you get past the first 3 rows. https://youtu.be/LbIx7MkaRDo. Peyote stitch is slightly different than a brick stitch, but looks similar. Peyote stitch is most often used in jewelry with very small beads, or the 6x9 plastic beads when making beaded banners, names/letters, and some bead pets.
Bead Pets are an old tradition among children. They love to make them and attached them to their back-packs. One of my grandsons had 13 bead pets on his back-pack one year - at the same time. Pony beads are generally used when making bead pets (6x9 mm), but perler beads can be used instead for a smaller version of the bead pet. Some of the patterns need to be modified slightly - add an extra row here or there as the perler beads are square (5x5 mm) vs the oblong pony bead (6x9 or 4x6 mm).
Photo: 6x9 pony bead, 4x6 pony bead, & 5x5 perler bead dragons
Tutorials for the various Bead Pets using Perler beads are at: https://www.youtube.com/@beadkids5565/videos
Perler Graph Paper is available to help design your own unique creations and to help make your own designs in Peyote stitch or Straight rows (https://beadkids.com/products/pony-bead-graph-paper-mini-pony-bead-graph-paper-perler-bead-graph-paper). The computer program Paint can also be used on a computer to help with original designs.
The letters and names are done in a straight stitch, using straws to keep the rows straight, and strung row by row, criss-crossing the strings. See youtube: Beadkids. The www.beadkids.com beading design board is extremely helpful for any of your beading projects using bead size 2 -10 mm beads.
Overall, perler bead crafting can be a fun and creative activity for people of all ages 6+. The possibilities for designs are endless. There are already thousands of patterns to choose from and more being designed each day. Why not design some of your own. Let your imagination run wild and create something truly unique! DaNell Boerup Beadkids.com 2023