Guides
8 Guides covering every step from a plain image to a shopping list you can order beads from.
A fuse bead pattern looks like nothing but a grid of squares, but a useful one has to get three things right at once: the grid size, whether the color codes are actually purchasable, and whether the bead count adds up. These 8 guides follow the real order of work — start with the first.
- Getting started: from one image to a bead shopping listYour first fuse bead pattern, end to end — choosing an image, picking a size, converting, fixing colors cell by cell, and exporting a construction sheet and material list.
- How to choose colors: why screen colors never match real beadsA practical guide to fuse bead color codes — why displays differ from physical beads, how to read color families and codes, what cross-brand mapping really means, and what to check before ordering.
- Pattern size and pegboards: cells, centimetres and assembling tilesHow to size a fuse bead pattern — converting cells to finished dimensions, common pegboard specs, and how to split and align a pattern across multiple boards.
- Reading the material list: how many beads of each color to buyHow to read a fuse bead material list — mapping codes to counts, calculating what to order, how much spare to keep, and using the making assistant to track progress.
- FAQ: images, privacy and exportsBeadPlanet FAQ — are images uploaded, where is my data stored, which formats work, what the exports are for, can it run offline, and why colors differ from real beads.
- Drawing Bead Patterns in a Spreadsheet? Three Faster RoutesWhere drawing fuse bead patterns in Excel breaks down, and three faster alternatives: a pixel-art tool, a purpose-built bead pattern generator, and the one job a spreadsheet is still good for.
- Photo to Bead Pattern: Image, Size, Colour CountFour decisions that decide whether a photo converts into a usable fuse bead pattern: testing the image, sizing for a finishable workload, capping colours to something you can buy, and the three fixes you must make by hand afterwards.
- Choosing a Bead Pattern Tool: Online, Single File, or AppOnline tools, downloadable single files and phone apps compared: what each really costs you, a six-dimension comparison, and the five things to check before choosing — palette provenance, offline capability, exports, editing, and smoothness.