Pokémon beads: How to find the best patterns
Where to find good Pokémon bead patterns? What's legal? The easiest characters to start with — and how to make your own customized patterns.
Pikachu, Eevee and a whole world of beads
Pokémon is without a doubt the most popular "theme" within bead boards — and for good reason. The characters are perfectly pixel-friendly: clear colors, distinct shapes, and fans at every age. But where do you find good patterns? And what's actually legal to make?
The short answer about copyright
Making a Pokémon bead board at home for your own use is fine. It's fair use as personal fan art. It only becomes a problem if you sell them or mass-distribute them as your own content. For private projects — gifts, decoration, hobby — there are no issues.
Where to find patterns?
- Pinterest: search for "pokemon beads" or "pokemon hama." Tons of fan-made patterns.
- Reddit (r/perlerbeads): many ready patterns shared free by enthusiasts.
- YouTube: lots of tutorials, and some include downloadable graphics.
- Make your own on Perleland.dk: take an official Pokémon image, upload, and make your own pattern — perfectly tailored to your colors.
The easiest Pokémon to start with
- Pikachu: yellow + brown + red. Three colors, everyone loves the result.
- Eevee: brown + cream. Cute, simple, classic.
- Bulbasaur: green + purple + light pink. Cool color combination.
- Squirtle: blue + light blue + brown. Turtle shell is pixel-friendly.
- Charmander: orange + yellow + red. The tail isn't hard.
The hard ones (but exciting)
- Mewtwo: many gray shades. Big project.
- Charizard: wings, tail, fire — great challenge on 50×50+.
- Lugia: white with blue details. Very elegant.
- Gyarados: long, curling shape. Needs a bigger board.
What size suits Pokémon?
- 20×20 beads: Sprite style, retro game look. Quick.
- 29×29 beads: Classic standard. Recognizable.
- 50×50 beads: More detail — eyes start to look right.
- 87×87 and up: Wall decoration. A serious project.
Make your own with Perleland
Find a fan art image you like? Upload it to Perleland.dk and get a pattern optimized for your Hama colors. You don't have to settle for a random fan art that might not match what you have in your box.
Tip: make a series
The most fun Pokémon project? Make a whole collection — like all 9 starters from the first 3 generations, or the entire Eevee evolutions. It looks beautiful when you hang them up side by side.
Colorful character patterns
We don't have Pokémon patterns (copyright), but these colorful characters bring the same joy:
Regnbuekat
Regnbuehest
Galakse
Lilla univers