Perler Beads

Perler beads are such fun for kids to make all sorts of colorful projects. They're great to have on hand for simple projects for rainy days or when the kids say those dreaded words: "I'm bored!"

All About Perler Beads

If you've never used Perler beads, you might still have seen projects made with them. They're a special kind of bead that is used on a peg board to make a design, which is set with an iron.

Perler beads and their peg boards can be purchased at most major craft store chains, as well as Wal-Mart. Buckets of beads with peg boards can be purchased, or you can buy activity kits that give you specific colored beads and peg boards for a certain design, as well as the necessary ironing sheets to finish the project (sheets can also be purchased separately).

To start using Perler beads, it's fun to buy one of the activity kits because they include everything you need and you don't have to come up with your own designs. Of course there are tons of free Perler bead patterns all over the Internet so it's fine to go it alone and just buy a bucket full of beads that includes a couple of basic peg boards and some ironing sheets.

Using Perler Beads

The basic procedure for making an object with Perler beads is the same regardless of what you are making. First, you make your design with the beads on your peg board. You don’t have to cover all of the pegs, just do whatever you need to do to make your design as you want it.

Heat a dry iron to medium heat. When the design is done, carefully carry it to the ironing board and cover with an ironing sheet. Put the iron down flat on the design and apply heat for about 30 seconds, using a circular motion to provide even heat across the project.

When the design is cool you can peel off the paper and remove the project from the peg board. Flip the project over and iron the other side in the same manner, again using an ironing sheet. Once again allow to cool and peel the paper off, and you're done!

Perler Bead Patterns

Perler beads are such a popular craft product for kids that there are many, many sites that offer free Perler bead patterns. Here are just a few:

• Perler Beads, home of the product, has a ton of different designs. Click on gallery, gallery archive, design archive or projects to find ideas.
• Bead Merrily
• crafts.htm Making Friends
• DLTK Kids, scroll to the bottom of the page for links to more patterns

Making Your Own Perler Bead Patterns

Once you have used some of the patterns above to get the hang of using Perler beads, then you can start making your own designs. Even if you don't buy all the specialized pegboards, looking at them online can give you some fun ideas, such as making an SUV, a shoe, a fish or a heart.

Look around the house for other small shapes that could be used as a guide for a Perler bead project. I'm always saying cookie cutters are a great overlooked craft resource, and this is another time when that is certainly true. Get out the cookie cutters and you can set a "pattern" right on your peg board to follow.

You can also make simple patterns if you are good at drawing (or even if you aren't) by using graph paper to chart your design. Each square can represent a peg, and you can even color them in if you want to use different colors of beads in your design.

This is a lot of fun for older kids because it's like doing two different crafts: drawing the design and then actually making it.

Perler beads are great for making Christmas ornaments, wall hangings, doorknob decorations, even little necklaces. Once you bring Perler beads into your life, you'll come up with tons of great ways to use them.