~ MARD · 185 & 221 COLORS ~
Free MARD Bead Pattern Maker
Upload any photo and get a MARD bead pattern in under a second. Every pixel is matched to real MARD colors and labelled with the A1/B5-style codes printed on your bottles — so the materials list is a shopping list, not a translation exercise.
Drop image or click to upload
JPEG, PNG, or WebP
Templates
Click a template to load it into the tool above
How to Make a MARD Bead Pattern
Upload a Photo or Artwork
Drag and drop or click to upload any JPEG, PNG or WebP. Transparent PNG areas become empty cells.
Make Sure MARD Is Selected
The Bead Brand selector at the top of the sidebar defaults to MARD on this page — 185 or 221, whichever kit you own.
Adjust Size, Colors and Image
Choose a board size, cap the color count for an easier build, and use Image Adjust for brightness, contrast or background removal.
Edit the Result
Open the designer to fix stray pixels, replace a color everywhere, or draw by hand — with full undo and redo.
Export or Start Crafting
Download a PDF or PNG, or press "Start Crafting" to tick beads off as you place them.
Features
Both MARD Kits (185 and 221)
Pick the kit you actually own. The 221 adds 36 colors the 185 has no answer for — D26, F25, H5–H23 and the M series, mostly greys, taupes and muted skin tones. The 185 is a strict subset, so a color saved from one is recognised in the other.
Real A1 / B5 Color Codes
Every cell carries the code printed on the bottle, not a re-numbered equivalent. The legend, the PDF and the materials list all use it, so you can order straight from the pattern.
Pegboard-Sized Defaults
Default grid is 29×29 — one standard square pegboard. Scale to 58 (two boards) or 87 (three) for larger mosaics. Non-square images are handled automatically.
Image Adjust & Dithering
Brightness, contrast and saturation before conversion, plus Floyd–Steinberg and four other dithering kernels for smoother gradients and better skin tones.
Progress Tracker
Tap beads off as you place them. Drag to paint a run, shift-drag to box-select, and your progress is kept in the browser so you can stop and come back.
Printable Multi-Board PDF
A board layout map, large page numbers, grid pages with color codes and a full bead-count materials list with cost estimate.
What Are MARD Beads?
MARD (麦德) beads are 5mm Midi fuse beads and the de facto standard in the Chinese 拼豆 community. They sit on the same pegboards as Perler, Hama and Artkal and are ironed the same way — what differs is the color-code system: A1–A26, B1–B32, C1–C29 and so on, printed on every bottle.
Two kits are common. The 185-color set is the usual starting point; the 221-color set adds 36 colors — D26, F25, H5–H23 and the M series — which are mostly the greys, taupes and muted skin tones the smaller kit cannot reach. MakeBead ships both, so the pattern you get matches the beads on your desk.
A MARD bead pattern maker saves you plotting each bead on graph paper. Upload an image, and the tool matches every pixel to a real MARD color, labels it with the code from your bottle, and gives you a bead-count list you can order from.
Other Brands Supported
The same tool works for Perler, Hama, Artkal and Nabbi. Switch with one click, or start on a brand-specific page:
MARD Bead Pattern Maker FAQ
What's the difference between the MARD 185 and 221 kits? ▾
The 221 is the 185 plus 36 more colors: D26, F25, H5–H23 and M1–M15. Those additions are mostly greys, taupes and muted skin tones — the range the 185 struggles with on portraits and shading. Every code in the 185 means the same color in the 221, so patterns stay compatible.
Are the MARD colors accurate? ▾
The RGB values come from published MARD color charts that agree with each other on all 221 codes. They are screen approximations: real beads vary with lighting and production batch, so treat them as a close guide rather than a match proof.
Can I use MARD codes I already own? ▾
Yes. Open "My Colors" in the sidebar and paste your codes — A1, B5, H12 and so on. The converter will then only use colors you actually have.
How does the pattern generation work? ▾
Your image is resized to the grid, then every pixel is matched to the nearest MARD color with a weighted RGB or CIEDE2000 distance. Nothing is uploaded — it all runs in your browser.
Why does my photo have scattered single-color pixels? ▾
Low-contrast photos produce confetti. Lower "Max Colors" to 8–15, turn on dithering, or raise contrast in Image Adjust. You can also open the designer and clean up cells by hand.
Can I export a printable pattern? ▾
Yes — PDF with a board layout map, color codes and a full materials list, or a high-resolution PNG.
Can I track my progress while placing beads? ▾
Yes. Press "Start Crafting" after converting. Click beads to mark them, drag to paint a run, shift-drag to select a block. Progress is saved in your browser.
Does MakeBead support other Chinese bead brands? ▾
Artkal is supported as well, alongside Perler, Hama and Nabbi. All use the same 5mm Midi size and the same 29×29 pegboard, and the Bead Brand switcher re-matches your pattern instantly.