Halloween is a favorite time of year for Marie and her family—they go all-out with their decorations and costumes for this fun occasion.

Perler, Hama, and Nabbi Bead Crafting

If you're looking for a fun and easy craft for kids or adults this Halloween season, why not give Perler beads a try? I've put together a selection of easy Perler and Hama bead design patterns that are quick to make and look fantastic. These crafts make great party favors, Halloween decorations, or gifts for the bewitching season.

What Are Perler Beads?

Perler beads, also known as Hama or Nabbi beads, are colored plastic cylinders that can be arranged into fun designs then fused together permanently using a clothing iron. They are a popular crafting choice for both children and adults.

Perler beads allow you to handcraft your own necklaces, magnets, cards, and ornaments. You can use these fun and spooky designs with children, family, and friends this Halloween season. I tend to go through beads very quickly because my daughter and I do lots of crafting with them. I've found that buying a big jar is the most cost-effective way to get them.

Perler Bead Patterns for Halloween

1. Spooky Skull
2. Bloodshot Eyeball
3. Jack-O-Lantern
4. Cute Candy Corn
5. Creepy Cobweb
6. Witch Owl
7. Sugar Skull

1. Spooky Skull

This spooky skull is the perfect size to wear as a necklace or a pair of small earrings. This is an easy pattern to make up in black and white, but you can also experiment with color. Try hot pink and monster green! Once complete, this craft can be given as a gift or worn as jewelry or as part of your Halloween costume.

If you want to know how to make a necklace with your finished project, there is a section on making your own jewelry with Perler and Hama beads below.

Supplies

• Small square pegboard
• 13 Black beads
• 38 White beads

Instructions

1. For this design, I like to start off with the black bead where the nostrils should be or the nose.
2. It is 4 beads across and 4 beads up, so it makes an easy starting point.
3. From there, it is easy to find where to position the rest of the black pieces and then add in the white.

2. Bloodshot Eyeball

Spook your guests this All Hallows' Eve with these bloodshot eyeball designs. They are perfectly sized to serve as small drink coasters. Alternatively, you can use these on top of cupcakes as gory decorations or mix them in with candy for trick or treating. They're sure to scare the person who unwittingly pulls them out! They make great hanging decorations, too.

This pattern design requires a small, circular pegboard which you can get as part of the basic small pegboard bundle if you don't already have one. The circular board is ideal for round designs (lots of people use them to make small coasters) and is the easiest way to make your own spooky eyes.

Supplies

• Small circular pegboard
• 43 Black beads
• 42 White beads
• 12 Red beads
• 30 Green beads

Instructions

1. Start from the middle with 1 black bead, then add a circle of 6 black beads around it to make the pupil in the eye.
2. Add two circles to make a green iris (the colored part of the eye) or choose another color if you prefer. If you like, you can make several eyes with differently colored irises (blue, brown, etc.).
3. I found it easier to add in 2 circles of white beads and then use tweezers to remove some to add in the red bead detail which makes the bloodshot effect. You might find it easier just to follow the pattern.
4. Finish up with a black circle outline to make your design pop!
5. To turn this into a drink coaster, add some clear beads to the rest of the empty pegs on the board to make it large enough.

3. Jack-O-Lantern

I like this little design because it is very versatile. You can either make a friendly jack-o-lantern as I have done here or leave off the facial features and just make a pumpkin design which is ideal for the Fall season and Thanksgiving. You can even change the smile into a frown if you prefer a grumpy Jack! This design is a great size to use in jewelry or on top of cupcakes.

Supplies

• Small square pegboard
• 7 black beads
• 3 green beads
• 44 orange beads

Instructions

1. I like to start with the smiling mouth on this design because from there it is easy to add in the eyes, the orange pumpkin design, and the green stem on top.
2. If you plan to skip the face and just want to make the pumpkin, then start three pegs from the left on the bottom row and take it from there.

Make some tiny candy corn designs with fused perler beads for Halloween and turn them into charms, necklaces, or even little earrings.

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4. Cute Candy Corn

Do you love candy corn as much as I do? Now you can make these delicious candy snacks out of your Perler and Hama beads. These are very quick to make, and you can build up to 3 pieces of candy corn at a time on your star-shaped pegboard. These would work well as earrings, rings, small necklaces, or little pieces of decoration for Halloween. Sprinkle them around the table for a party, or pop them onto the top of cupcakes as cute decorations.

Supplies

• Star-shaped pegboard
• 5 white beads
• 9 orange beads
• 11 yellow beads

Instructions

1. Candy corn is so easy to make using your star-shaped board. You need to use one of the star points and start from the 2nd row up with your white beads.
2. Work in two rows of white.
3. Now add two rows of orange.
4. Lastly, add two rows of yellow with the final yellow row only having 5 beads.

5. Creepy Cobweb

I love making up these fun spiderweb designs in different colors. They are the ideal size to place on top of frosted cupcakes as inedible toppers for decoration. You can also hang them up as decorations or even turn them into small drink coasters by filling in the empty pegs on the board with clear Perler beads.

For this design, you need a small, hexagonal pegboard. If you're making lots of them, you can save time by filling multiple pegboards at once then ironing all of them at the same time. If you only have one board, you'll need to iron each design before you can make another.

6. Witch Owl

These owls are a little complicated, but they're tons of fun to make. The hats on their heads remind me of Harry Potter and the Hogwarts school of magic. Use these desgins as jewelry, wall-hangings, or Halloween coasters.

7. Sugar Skull

Sugar skulls are fun to create in lots of different color patterns. This pattern uses an entire small square pegboard.

Once you've got the black outline in place, you can have fun changing up the colors and patterns across the rest of the facial area. Thread some twine or thin cord through the finished design to make a fun hanging ornament or seasonal decoration.

Use Perler Beads to Make Jewelry

You can make all kinds of things with your completed fused-bead crafts: kitchen magnets, centerpieces for handmade greeting cards, ornaments, coasters, and more. But did you know that you can turn your completed items into pieces of jewelry, too? You can, and with some inexpensive equipment, you can make fun items that you, your friends, and your family members will enjoy wearing. Why not make some Halloween jewelry out of some of your completed Perler bead designs?

Feel free to leave a comment or question related to this article—I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks so much for dropping by.

© 2013 Marie

Comments

Cam on August 08, 2020:

Love pumpkin

DJ on December 18, 2019:

Thank u I love them can u put out more?

Lorelei Cohen on September 10, 2016:

It's that time of year again to start pulling out the haunting. :)

Trulee Ann from Arkansas City, Kansas on January 26, 2014:

Osiyo:

If only I could bead so fast? LOL

Great lens sharing and very cute beading ideas for the young ones!

Blessings..........Annlee