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May 12, 2020 By jessicaturner 9 Comments

Perler Beads Tutorial + Best Products for Kids

perler beads for kids

Perler beads are one of my kids FAVORITE crafts right now. My kids are 5, almost 9 and almost 12 and all three will sit and do them for hours. I think perler beads are a great craft for any child over the age of four. It takes patience, so younger than four isn't a good idea!

If you aren't familiar perler beads are small beads that are placed on boards to make patterns. After the pattern is made, you simply place wax paper or parchment paper over the beads and iron on low heat. The beads will fuse/melt together. Then peal the beads off the tray, fold the paper over and melt the other side. This will make for a strong finished product. Be sure not to have water in your iron, as water might ruin the beads.

You can find perler bead patterns for anything imaginable — from Disney characters to superheroes, flowers to animals. Literally ANYTHING. In this post, I am going to share some of our favorite products + tips for success. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

perler beads for kids

All you need are a few peg boards + beads to get you started. If your children have never done perler beads, this starter set with a few trays + lots of beads is a great set, and it is affordably priced at $11. I also recommend these large square pegboards, because they allow for lots of flexibility to make anything your children can imagine.

I definitely recommend buying the Perler Bead brand of beads, as other ones sometimes don't melt as well.

Perler Beads

perler beads for kids

You can buy perler beads in buckets or in divided trays. The trays are really nice because the beads are divided by color. However, the separated trays are more expensive. We have some of each. The hunt for beads doesn't seem to bother my kids – it's all part of the process.

Seekone Fuse Beads, 24 colors

Perler Stripes and Pearlized Beads

Perler Beads Tray

Perler Beads Bulk Set 22,000 beads

Perler Tropical Colors Bead Tray

Perler Bakery Bead Kit

Perler Bead Pattern Books

perler beads for kids

Though you can find perler bead patterns galore online, we have found that a few pattern books are a nice analog way to create. We have also found patterns in books that are not available online.

Harry Potter Patterns

Star Wars Patterns

110 Patterns

Super Mario Patterns

For more patterns, check out the Kindle Unlimited library for the book Beadcrafts. Don't have Kindle Unlimited? Currently you can get it absolutely FREE for 2 months ($19.98 value). Add it to your account today.

Perler Bead Kits

Mermaid Kit

Woodland Creatures Kit

3d Ocean Kit

Super Mario Kit

Legend of Zelda

Pet Parade

I hope this post inspires you to get some perler beads for your children this summer. They will love them and you will love the hours of creativity.

Perler Beads tips and tricks for kids

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Comments

  1. Cassandra says

    May 12, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    Thanks for the links! I’ve seen them for years, but I haven’t known the name. I have always wondered, what do you do with them once they’re done/melted together?

    Reply
  2. Ramya Ravindra Barithaya says

    May 14, 2020 at 12:43 pm

    Loved this

    Reply
  3. Emily Olson says

    May 17, 2020 at 2:07 pm

    My kids love PERLER beads too! Do you have the large hex boards that is used in some of the patterns in the 110 Pattern book? I haven’t been able to find it anywhere.

    Reply
    • jessicaturner says

      May 18, 2020 at 12:30 pm

      Yes, we have the large square boards that are linked in this post. They hook together and work perfectly for the larger patterns.

      Reply
  4. Jess says

    May 17, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    Perler also makes biggie beads and beginner patterns for younger kids – my 3 year olds love them. The beads are bigger and easier to maneuver. I’ve found them online at amazon and in store at Joann.

    Reply
    • jessicaturner says

      May 18, 2020 at 12:30 pm

      Great to know!

      Reply
  5. Colleen says

    October 2, 2021 at 1:18 am

    We recently got a few projects from Michael’s but they turned out to be brittle and cracking with minor movement. I even ironed both sides to get them to stay. Have they changed their formula or did I just buy a bad batch?

    Reply
    • jessicaturner says

      October 5, 2021 at 5:33 am

      I have not really had this happen, especially when ironing both sides. I wonder if you didn’t iron them long enough?

      Reply
  6. Qunn says

    May 3, 2022 at 10:54 am

    you can use them to decorate your rooms and they are great gifts

    Reply

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