Type a name and see it in beads straight away. Pick a font, size, colours, background and frame, add a date or a heart on the line below, and download the pattern as a PDF with colour numbers and bead counts. Everything is laid out on whole pegboards, so you know exactly how many beads you need before you start. No account is needed to download the PDF.
Start from a set
A set picks the shape, frame, background, icon and colours for you. Your name stays, and you can change everything afterwards under Decoration.
Door sign — Shadow text, double frame, stars, string holes
Christening — Heart shape, dove, name and date in light blue
Birthday — Rainbow letters, candles and confetti
First day of school — Shield with apples, name and class in bold
Bag tag — One pegboard, rounded corners, cat on yellow
Place card — Bars, a little flower, just the name
Christmas — Snow on red, outlined text, Christmas tree
Welcome — Pennant with a house and toothed edge
Decoration
Shape, frame, background, effect and a little icon – that is what makes the sign yours. The sets above are just starting points.
Shape: Rectangle, Rounded corners, Heart, Shield, Pennant, Circle
Frame: None, Single, Thick, Double, Dotted, Toothed, Chequered, Bars top/bottom
Classic and Bold have lower-case letters with real descenders on g, j, p, q and y. Small is 5 beads tall and writes everything in capitals, so a name can fit on a single pegboard.
The colours are Hama's own, so the numbers in the PDF match the bags in the shop. Pick dark letters on a light background, or the other way round, so the name can be read from across the room.
What you can use a name in beads for
A name in beads is one of the quickest bead patterns to make, and it almost always gets used afterwards. Here are the ideas we see most often – press Try and the setup is loaded at the top of the page.
Door sign for the kids' room The name in a large font with a frame, two or three pegboards wide. Iron the board well on both sides so it stays stiff, and hang it with a thin string through the two top corner holes – no drilling or gluing needed.
Christening gift with name and date Name on the first line, the date on the next and a heart at the bottom. Light pastel colours on a white background look like a christening card. Give it in a small frame so it can stand on the dresser for years.
Birthday sign Name and age with a star. Without a background you use fewer beads, and the sign can stand on the table or hang on the door when the guests arrive. Try the number in a different colour from the name.
First day of school and pencil case Name and class in bold so it can be read from a distance. A small tag in the pencil case or on the lunch box is hard to mix up by mistake – and it is fun to make together the week before school starts.
Bag tag and key ring A single pegboard with the small font and a strong colour behind it. Use a maxi bead or a large hole in the corner for a key ring, or sew the tag onto the bag through the holes along the edge.
Place cards for the party Just the name, no background or frame, so each card takes a few minutes and a few beads. Make them in the guests' favourite colours and they take them home as a small gift.
Christmas decoration with a name “Merry Xmas” or the family's names in red and green. A heart or a star on the line below, a string through the top, and the decoration can hang on the tree or on a present as a gift tag.
Welcome sign A word that fits by the front door, in the holiday home or at the office. Black letters on a yellow background can be read from furthest away, but try white on dark blue as well.
The alphabet in beads – with bead counts per letter
Would you rather lay the name without a screen? Here are all letters, digits and signs in the three fonts, with the number of beads each one needs. Download it as a single PDF sheet, keep it next to the pegboard and add up the letters to know how many beads the name takes.
A 18 · B 20 · C 13 · D 18 · E 18 · F 14 · G 18 · H 17 · I 11 · J 11 · K 14 · L 11 · M 18 · N 17 · O 16 · P 15 · Q 17 · R 18 · S 15 · T 11 · U 15 · V 13 · W 18 · X 13 · Y 10 · Z 15 · Æ 21 · Ø 21 · Å 15 · a 14 · b 16 · c 10 · d 16 · e 14 · f 11 · g 18 · h 14 · i 9 · j 11 · k 12 · l 10 · m 14 · n 12 · o 12 · p 16 · q 16 · r 8 · s 13 · t 11 · u 12 · v 9 · w 12 · x 9 · y 16 · z 13 · æ 20 · ø 15 · å 15 · 0 19 · 1 10 · 2 15 · 3 14 · 4 14 · 5 17 · 6 15 · 7 11 · 8 17 · 9 15 · ♥ 16 · ★ 15 · & 16 · ! 6 · ? 10 · . 2
The number is the bead count for the character at size Small (1 bead per cell). At Medium it is 4 times as many, at Large 9 times.
How to lay a name in beads
Type the name and pick a set Type the name at the top and press a set that looks like what you want to make. You can change font, size and colours afterwards – the pattern on screen follows every change.
Download the PDF and get the beads out The PDF has one page per pegboard with the colour number in every bead and a list of how many beads you need of each colour. Lay the bags out in the order they appear on the list and you save time.
Lay the letters first, then the background Start with the letters from left to right and count the rows on the PDF – the count lines every fifth bead help you keep track of where you are. Background and frame are easy to fill in last.
Iron and hang Put baking paper on top and iron in even circles until the beads just melt together. Turn the board over and iron the back as well, so the sign is stiff and keeps its shape. Let it cool under a book so it does not curl.
Three things that make the name look better
Contrast rather than many colours One letter colour and a light or dark background can be read across the living room. If you want more colours, make each line its own colour instead of each letter.
Give the letters air There should be at least one empty row between the letters and the frame. The pattern adds two beads of air by itself – try the Small font before choosing more pegboards if the name only just does not fit.
Holes for the string from the start Leave the two top corners empty (choose No background, or remove two beads once the board is laid). Then the holes for the string are there before you iron, and you do not have to drill the finished board.
Want to make more than a name?
Combine the name with a motif in the tool, draw your own pattern on a blank template, or let Perleland draw a figure from an idea.
It is shown under the pattern as soon as you have typed the name – both in total and per colour in the PDF. As a rule of thumb, a four-letter name in the Classic font takes about 60 beads without a background, and a full midi pegboard with background holds 841 beads.
Can I write in lower case and with æ, ø and å?
Yes. Classic and Bold have both upper and lower case, and æ, ø and å exist in all three fonts. The small font is only 5 beads tall and therefore writes everything in capitals, so a name can fit on one pegboard.
How big does the sign get?
A midi pegboard with 29 × 29 beads is about 14.5 × 14.5 cm once ironed. Under the pattern you can see the size in centimetres for your exact setup, also for mini and maxi beads.
Can I put the name into another pattern?
Yes. Press Edit in the tool and the pattern opens in Perleland's editor, where you can keep drawing, move the letters and add figures. The editor also has a text stamp, so you can write directly on top of a pattern you made from a photo.
Which beads does the pattern fit?
The colour numbers follow Hama. Midi patterns also fit Nabbi, Pyssla and Perler, because the pegboards have the same peg spacing – only the colour numbers need translating, and most shops have a table for that.
Does it cost anything?
No. The pattern, the PDF and the alphabet sheet are free and need no login. If you want to save the pattern on your profile or edit it in the tool, you need to log in, and that is free too.