~ HAMA MIDI · 92 COLORS ~
Free Hama Bead Pattern Maker
Upload any photo and get a Hama bead pattern in under a second. Every pixel is matched to the official Hama Midi (5mm) palette — 92 authentic colors — and the result is a print-ready pattern with color codes, a full bead-count materials list, and multi-board PDF export.
Drop image or click to upload
JPEG, PNG, or WebP
29 × 29 beads · 1×1 board
Templates
Click a template to load it into the tool above
How to Make a Hama Bead Pattern
Upload a Photo or Artwork
Drag & drop or click to upload any JPEG, PNG, or WebP. PNG transparency is treated as empty cells (no bead).
Make Sure Hama Is Selected
The Bead Brand selector at the top of the sidebar defaults to Hama · 92 colors on this page. Switch to Perler/Artkal/Nabbi anytime to compare.
Adjust Size, Colors, and Image
Pick a pegboard size (29, 58, or 87). Use Max Colors to simplify. Expand Image Adjust to tune brightness/contrast or remove a background color. Enable Dithering for smoother gradients.
Edit the Result
If you see confetti pixels or want to swap a color, click Edit Pattern — flood fill, replace-all, paint, erase. Full undo/redo.
Export or Start Crafting
Download PDF (with board map, page numbers, and materials list) or PNG. Or click Start Crafting to enter Progress Tracker mode and mark beads as you place them.
Features
Full Hama Midi Palette (92 Colors)
Every cell is mapped to a real Hama Midi color with its official H-code. Switch to Perler, Artkal, or Nabbi anytime from the Bead Brand selector — the same pattern re-matches instantly.
Pegboard-Sized Defaults
Default grid is 29×29 — one standard Hama square pegboard. Scale to 58 (two boards) or 87 (three boards) for larger mosaics. Non-square aspect ratios are handled automatically.
Image Adjust & Dithering
Tune brightness, contrast, and saturation before conversion. Floyd–Steinberg dithering produces smoother gradients and more faithful skin tones — essential for photo conversions.
Background Removal
One-click eyedropper makes any background color transparent. Adjustable tolerance handles photo edges cleanly — no need to pre-process in Photoshop.
Fix Confetti with the Built-In Editor
Hit Edit Pattern to clean isolated single-color pixels. Flood fill, replace-all, paint, erase — full undo/redo, all kept in sync with the live materials list.
Progress Tracker for Big Builds
A 58×58 Hama pattern is 3,364 beads. Tap Start Crafting to enter tracker mode — mark beads as you place them, drag to paint, Shift+drag to box-select. Progress saves to your browser, so you can come back next week.
What Are Hama Beads?
Hama beads are small, colorful plastic fuse beads made by the Danish company Malte Haaning Plastic. They are the European equivalent of Perler beads in North America — same 5mm Midi size, same pegboards, same iron-to-fuse technique. Across most of Europe, "Hama" is used generically the way "Perler" is in the US.
The Hama Midi range includes 92 official colors, each with an H-code (H01 through roughly H224). Colors range from solid basics to glow-in-the-dark, translucent, metallic, pastel, and neon shades. Hama sells Midi beads individually by color and as mixed-color buckets.
A Hama bead pattern maker converts a photo or artwork into a pixel grid where every cell is mapped to a real Hama Midi color. Instead of eyeballing colors or counting graph paper by hand, you upload an image and get a print-ready blueprint with color codes, a bead-count shopping list, and a board-by-board build guide. MakeBead runs this entire pipeline in your browser — no uploads, no sign-up.
Other Brands Supported
The same tool works for Perler, Artkal, and Nabbi. Switch with one click, or start on a brand-specific page:
Hama Bead Pattern Maker FAQ
Is this a real Hama bead pattern maker? ▾
Yes. The 92-color Hama Midi palette is baked in — each color carries its official H-code (H01 White, H02 Cream, H03 Yellow, etc.). What the tool outputs maps directly to real Hama beads you can buy. If you prefer Perler, Artkal, or Nabbi, switch with the Bead Brand selector; the same image re-matches in a click.
How many Hama colors does MakeBead support? ▾
The full 92-color Hama Midi set. Use the Max Colors slider (default 5–50) to simplify a design, or type a higher number in the box next to it — up to all 92 Hama colors for maximum fidelity.
What's the difference between Hama and Perler beads? ▾
Both are 5mm iron-on fuse beads on a pegboard. Hama is the European brand (originating in Denmark); Perler is North American. They use the same pegboards and fusing technique, but their color palettes differ. MakeBead gives you both — swap anytime to compare how your design looks in each.
How does the pattern generation work? ▾
Upload a JPEG, PNG, or WebP image. MakeBead scales it to your chosen grid size using nearest-neighbor pixelation, then matches every pixel to the closest Hama color using a weighted RGB distance algorithm. The whole pipeline runs in your browser — no uploads, no waiting.
Why does my photo have scattered single-color pixels? ▾
"Confetti" is typical for low-contrast photos. Three fixes: (1) lower Max Colors to 8–15, (2) turn on Floyd–Steinberg dithering, (3) raise the Contrast slider in Image Adjust. You can also hit Edit Pattern and flood-fill isolated stray cells.
Can I export a printable pattern? ▾
Yes — PDF export includes an overview page with a board layout map, giant page numbers on each board page, prev/next indicators, color codes in every cell, bold lines every 5 cells, and a complete materials list with H-codes and bead counts. PNG export is also available.
Can I track my progress while placing Hama beads? ▾
Yes. Click Start Crafting after your pattern is ready. Click to toggle single beads, drag to paint a run, Shift+drag to mark a whole region. Progress persists to your browser's localStorage, so your multi-week mosaic picks up exactly where you left off.
Does MakeBead work with Hama Mini or Maxi beads? ▾
Current color data is for Hama Midi (5mm) — the most common size. Hama Mini (2.5mm) and Maxi (10mm) share the same color names and codes, so the Midi palette is a reasonable approximation. We may add per-size palettes in future updates.
Where does the Hama color data come from? ▾
RGB values are sampled from physical Hama beads by the open-source beadcolors project (MIT license). Colors are approximate and may vary slightly from actual beads due to lighting and dye batch differences.