What this tool does
Turn any picture into a bead pattern you can actually build from. A mainstream 221-shade card (MARD) is built in by default: the image is sliced into an NxN grid, each cell is averaged and snapped to the closest buyable bead shade. It does not stop there — the pattern opens in a workbench where you can zoom in, repaint cells, flip or rotate it, isolate a single shade to see where it sits, and switch to an ironed preview to see the fused result.
Colour cards are swappable (MARD 291, Artkal, COCO, Perler, Hama are included) and switching remaps the whole pattern to the nearest shades. You can also tick only the shades you actually own, so the pattern never asks for a colour you cannot build. When you are happy, export: the pattern PNG is what you build from, and the usage list converts every colour into 500-bead packs. Everything runs in your browser; the image is never uploaded.
How to use
- Pick the grid size first The grid size sets the sampling granularity, so it comes before the upload: 16x16 uses the fewest beads but keeps only a silhouette; 29x29 and 58x58 match common pegboard sizes; 100x100 keeps the most detail but usually needs a few thousand beads. The default 29x29 works out of the box.
- Then pick an image — remove the background if there is one Images with a clear subject and flat colour areas work best — logos, illustrations, cartoon avatars. Photos work too, but busy backgrounds and heavy detail come out mushy.If the image has a background (a flat colour, or a transparent PNG cut-out), turn on Remove background: the alpha channel is used when present, otherwise the background colour is grown inward from the edges. Removed cells take no colour and add nothing to the bead counts, so the subject is never polluted by the backdrop.
- Read the pattern Every cell carries a code; match it against the code column in the usage list. Scroll or pinch to zoom — codes get clearer as cells grow — and drag in Pan mode to inspect a large pattern.
- Fix the parts you dislike A few cells always come out wrong: pick a colour and click, use the eraser to clear, or drag to repaint a run. Flip and rotate to fix the orientation, and undo (or redo) when you overshoot.
- Isolate a shade, preview the finish Click a shade under Bead counts and only its cells stay lit while the rest fade — that is how you find where a colour is scattered. Switch on Ironed to see the fused, flattened result ahead of time.
- Limit to the shades you own (optional) Under Options, open Available shades and deselect the ones you do not own, then hit Re-snap pattern: the whole pattern is rebuilt using only the shades you have.
- Download all three files The PNG is for building, the TXT for shopping, and the .bead file for keeping the project. Changing the grid size re-runs the original image — no need to pick it again.
FAQ
Why do the colours not match the original exactly?
Beads only come in a limited number of shades. Every cell is replaced by the closest one on the card, so smooth gradients collapse into flat blocks of colour. That is a property of the medium, not a bug in the tool.
Which grid size should I pick?
Pick 16x16 or 29x29 for a quick build, 58x58 when you want detail. 100x100 suits small ornaments but usually needs thousands of beads, and the cells get too small to print codes.
What are the numbers on the pattern?
They are colour codes, matching the Code column in the usage list. A cell marked 7 means: look up code 7 in the list for the colour and the count.
How are packs calculated?
500 beads per pack, rounded up **per colour** — a pack holds one colour and colours cannot be combined. So 8 white plus 8 red is 2 packs, not 1.
Does the image have to be square?
No. The tool samples the centre square, so landscape or portrait photos are never stretched — the trade-off is that the edges get cropped. Crop to a square first if you need the edges.
If I repaint cells, do the counts update?
Yes, immediately. Every repaint recomputes the bead counts — per-shade beads and packs, plus the overall total. The exported pattern and list are generated from your edited version, so you never get a stale file.
How do I see where one shade sits on the pattern?
Click that shade under Bead counts (or its swatch): only that colour stays opaque while everything else fades, so you can see exactly where it lands. Click again, or hit All beads, to go back.
Is 221 shades the mainstream card? What if my beads differ?
221 shades is the most common full set, so it is the default. If it does not match your beads, either switch the colour card (MARD 291, Artkal, COCO, Perler and Hama are built in) or tick the shades you own and hit re-snap so the pattern only uses those.
Are these official brand codes?
The codes are the brands’ own (MARD’s A1, H1 and so on), but the code-to-colour mapping comes from a community dataset (bitbead.app, CC BY 4.0) — the brands do not publish such a table. Treat the colours as a good guide and check a physical chart for strict matching.
Is my image uploaded?
No. Decoding, sampling, matching and rendering all happen in your browser; the image never leaves your device.
Limits
Inputs: PNG, JPG, JPEG and WebP, up to 20MB each. HEIC (the iPhone default) is not supported yet — export to JPG first. You can also drop a .bead project exported by this tool to skip conversion and keep editing.
Colour data comes from a community cross-brand dataset (bitbead.app, CC BY 4.0) and is **not an official brand chart** — for strict code matching, use the brand’s own chart. At 100x100 the cells are too small for codes, so follow the colours on the pattern instead.