Free photo to bead pattern converter
Turn a picture into a bead pattern.
A logo, a drawing, a flower from the garden. Choose a picture and see it in real seed beads at once, as a loom bracelet or a pair of brick stitch earrings, with the chart, the bead codes and every bead counted.
Try a picture
From a picture to beads you can buy
Lay it on the chart
The picture sits whole in the middle of the piece, repeats along a bracelet, or is cropped to fill it. Loom rows sit straight; brick stitch rows are offset by half a bead, and the chart follows the real stitch.
Match real beads
Each bead takes the colour of the picture under it. The colours are grouped, and each group becomes the nearest real MIYUKI Delica bead, with its DB code, so the chart is a shopping list too.
Tidy it and bead it
In the editor, fix any bead with Draw and Fill, see the piece in 3D, then print the PDF chart with bead counts in grams or follow it on screen row by row. Watch the stitches step by step.
How much picture fits
A seed bead is about 1.6 mm wide, so every bead is one dot of colour. Here is roughly what reads clearly at each size, in Delica 11/0 beads with a 17.0 cm bracelet band.
| Piece | Beads | Finished size | Reads well |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrow bracelet | 9 beads wide | 1.3 cm wide | One bold icon: a heart, a star, a single letter |
| Classic bracelet | 15 beads wide | 2.1 cm wide | A simple logo, a flower, a pet silhouette, pixel art |
| Wide cuff | 25 beads wide | 3.5 cm wide | A small scene, a landscape strip, a detailed cartoon |
| Medium earrings | 15 × 20 beads | 2.5 × 2.8 cm | A fruit, a flower, a sunset, a small portrait in a few colours |
- Crop close. The subject should fill the picture; empty sky or wall becomes rows of plain beads.
- Flat colour beats detail. Logos, cartoons, flags and pixel art convert almost bead for bead. Photos work best with strong light and a plain background.
- Think in silhouettes. Faces and small text need more beads than a bracelet has. Choose a wide cuff, or keep the outline and let colour do the rest.
- Fewer colours, cleaner pattern. Start with four to eight. You can always add a colour by hand in the editor.
Questions about photo bead patterns
How do I turn a photo into a bead pattern?
Choose a picture above, or drop or paste one. Pick a bracelet or earrings, a size and how many colours. Every bead takes the colour of the picture underneath it, matched to a real bead. Open it in the editor to tidy any bead, then print the chart with its bead list or follow it row by row.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The picture is turned into beads in your browser and is never sent to our server. In the editor it stays on your device as a tracing reference. If you choose to publish your design, only the bead chart and pictures drawn from it are published, never your photo.
What kind of picture works best?
Bold shapes with a few flat colours: logos, icons, cartoons, flags, pixel art and simple flowers or fruit. A bracelet is only 9 to 25 beads wide, so a detailed photo, a face or small text becomes a few blocks of colour. Crop close to the subject and choose a plain background.
Can I make a bracelet from a photo of my pet?
Yes, but think in silhouettes. At 15 beads wide a pet reads best as its outline in one or two colours on a plain background. For more detail, choose a wide cuff, or crop the picture to the face and use earrings.
Which bead colours does it use?
Real MIYUKI Delica 11/0 colours by their DB codes (164 opaque, matte and lustre colours), or TOHO Round 11/0 when you change the bead type in the editor. Colours are matched by how they look on screen, so check physical beads before you buy.
How many colours should I choose?
Fewer colours are easier to buy and to bead. Four to eight colours keep a logo or icon crisp; twelve or more help a sunset or a gradient. Colours that would only cover a few stray beads are merged into the nearest colour you keep.
Can I change the pattern afterwards?
Yes. Everything opens in the editor: draw and fill beads, swap a colour for another bead, change the size, add a border, and turn the finished piece in 3D before you print it.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no account and no watermark on your chart. Your design is saved in your browser; publishing it to the gallery is optional.
Spell a name in beads instead Loom bracelet patterns Brick stitch earring patterns The bead colour chart