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Fuse bead sizes and pegboards
Fuse beads (also called melty beads, Hama beads or Perler beads) come in three main sizes. Our patterns are drawn for the most common one, 5 mm, but a chart works with any size: only the finished piece gets bigger or smaller.
The three sizes
| Size | Bead | Examples | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midi | 5 mm | Hama Midi, Perler (classic), Artkal S | most patterns, keyrings, magnets |
| Mini | about 2.5 mm | Hama Mini and the mini ranges of other brands | jewellery, very small pieces, patient hands |
| Maxi | 10 mm | Hama Maxi | young children (big beads, big pegs) |
Mini sizes vary a little between brands. Check the size printed on your bag of beads.
Do the 5 mm brands mix?
Hama Midi, Perler and Artkal S are all 5 mm beads, so a chart drawn for one works for the others: one square is one bead, whatever the brand. Many makers mix brands on the same pegboard. Beads from different brands can melt a little differently, so if you mix them in one piece, test-iron a small sample first. Our bead lists give the closest colour code for each of the three brands.
What a pegboard holds
A large square pegboard for 5 mm beads has 29 × 29 pegs, about 14.5 cm a side. All our designs are 16 beads wide or less, so each one fits on a single large square board. Two 13-bead designs even fit side by side, with a free column between them.
How big will it be?
Finished size of three of our patterns with each bead size (one bead = one square of the chart):
| Pattern | Mini (2.5 mm) | Midi (5 mm) | Maxi (10 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free ghost (13 × 13) | 3.2 × 3.2 cm | 6.5 × 6.5 cm | 13.0 × 13.0 cm |
| Candy cane (13 × 12) | 3.2 × 3.0 cm | 6.5 × 6.0 cm | 13.0 × 12.0 cm |
| Kawaii whale (16 × 11) | 4.0 × 2.8 cm | 8.0 × 5.5 cm | 16.0 × 11.0 cm |
Fused beads shrink very slightly; these are rounded sizes.
Start here
The free ghost pattern (13 × 13, 148 beads) is a good first test of your beads and your iron. Then the Kawaii Animals and Christmas packs have 12 patterns each, for 4.90 € a pack. See also how to read a chart and how to iron fuse beads.