Perler Beads:

a New Way to Spend Time with Fun for All Ages

Maybe when lurking the mall to find something interesting you have seen curious packs of colored beads? If not, please, pay attention to them. This is a perler beads kit a new trendy idea for children and adults.

Let’s go further and get more about what are perler beads, how to make creative and beautiful figurines with them, and what tips to use for this kind of a hobby.

What Are Perler Beads?

The whole idea of perler beads refers to two hobbies at once. On the one hand, it is similar to a 3D plastic pen design as it also uses plastic basis and heat treatment to get a result. On another hand, the process of creating perler beads figurines is similar to a mosaic. In fact, it is a mosaic made of special grain-shaped beads made of thermoplastics.

Perler beads kits majorly suit children from 4 to 5 years old. Yet some manufacturers offer kits for toddlers. In them, beads are of bigger size and patterns are simple to use.

How to define what kit suits your child’s age? That’s simple! Look at the size of the beads.

• Beads of 10 mm are the biggest and you can buy them for younger children. Yet perler beads should be used only under an adult’s supervision in any case.
• Beads of 5 mm suit pre-school and primary school age. You can try them with your 5+ years old children.
• The smallest beads of 2.5 mm are a good idea for teenagers and adults. They require good fine motor skills. 

When you adhere to the technology of perler beads, you can get beautiful figurines that are durable and long-lasting. At once, the texture of the surface of these figurines is grainy and pleasant to the touch. Sounds wonderful, isn’t it? Besides, working with perler beads is safe and easy. You do not need any complex techniques or sharp tools to make the figure you want. Now let’s explore in detail how to work with these beads.

How to Make Items of Perler Beads?

First of all, let’s highlight what you actually need to make something great from perler beads.

• A certain number of beads, of course. Choose the colors you may need for the item you make.
• A pattern or a stencil in the shape of the figure you are going to get using perler beads. These stencils have tiny pins to fix each bid on them.
• A shirt of baking paper.
• A tweezer.
• An iron.

We are not playing jokes, you will definitely need iron as perler beads need to be ironed to create a strong, durable surface.

Then, let’s make complex things easy and depict the process of working with perler beads in 5 basic steps.

1. Start with choosing the stencil. As usual, there are several different stencils in the perler beader kit. Do not stick on them only as you can also make custom figurines using the surface of each stencil for your brave ideas. Lay the stencil on the table and prepare colored beads.
2. Use a tweezer to place beads on the surface of the stencil. When you fill all the space with beads, check out whether each bead is in the right place.
3. Cover the stencil with laid beads with a shit of baking paper. Iron it with round moves of hot iron for 10 seconds.
4.  Get the figurine out of the stencil and cover it again with baking paper. Iron one more time.
5. To prevent cracking of the figurine, leave it on the flat surface and put a load on it for a few minutes. After the figurine cools off, you can take it.

We should warn you that working with perler beads can be dangerous for children so it is better to create figurines together with adults. Ironing is strictly prohibited for children so this stage should be performed by adults only.

Benefits of Perler Beads Hobby

Why are perler beads so popular? The secret is simple! This hobby is both entertaining and useful. The main benefits of working with perler beads are as follows.

• Small beads help develop fine motor skills. And this activity is useful not only for children. Many therapists recommend that adults also use perler beads, for example, as rehabilitation therapy after serious illnesses. And for seniors, perler beads are an opportunity to reduce the risks of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
• A hobby like perler beads helps to learn how to work with color. They develop imagination and artistic taste.
• The need to count the number of beads and rows helps a lot in developing mathematical skills and analytical skills.
• The very process of creating figurines from perler beads requires concentration and patience. These qualities are also perfectly developed with the help of this hobby.

Perler beads Patterns