Pattern Converter – User Guide

Complete User Guide

Turn any image into a
custom bead pattern

This guide walks you through every tool and feature so you can create your perfect bead pattern with ease.

📋 Quick Navigation
1Top Toolbar
2Parameters Panel
3Processing Modes
4Saving Projects
5Reset / New Canvas
6Exporting Patterns
7Clean Up & Colors
8FAQ
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Section 01

Top Toolbar

👁️
Preview Toggle

Toggle between edit mode and preview mode. In preview mode you can see how your finished pattern will look without the grid lines — useful for checking the overall result before exporting.

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Brush

Paint individual beads by clicking on cells. First choose a color from the right panel's color list (e.g. H07 shown in the toolbar), then click any cell to apply it. Use with Size to paint multiple beads at once.

Eraser

Click any bead to remove it — the cell becomes empty (white/background, no bead placed). Great for cleaning up edges or removing unwanted areas.

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Eyedropper

Click any bead on the canvas to instantly pick up its color as your active brush color. Hover over any bead to see a tooltip with its color code, hex value, and grid position.

↩️
Undo

Reverses your last edit. Click multiple times to undo several steps in a row. Your safety net for any accidental brush strokes or erasures.

⊖ 1 ⊕
Size

Controls how many beads your brush covers at once. Size 1 = one bead at a time (precise). Size 3 = a 3×3 block of 9 beads. Use larger sizes for filling big areas quickly.

Active Color (e.g. H07)

The colored square and code in the toolbar shows which color is currently selected for painting. The codes (e.g. H07, G10, B23) are MARD color codes — the most widely used fuse bead color system in Asia. You'll find the same codes on thousands of free patterns shared on social media.

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Zoom

Drag the slider to zoom in or out. The number shows each bead's size in pixels (e.g. 8px = each bead is 8px wide on screen). Zoom in for precise editing, zoom out to see the full pattern.

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Delete / Clear

The red trash icon. Clears the current canvas. This is a destructive action — make sure to export or save your project before using it.

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Tip: Toolbar order left to right: Preview toggle → Brush → Eraser → Eyedropper → Undo → Size (−/+) → Active Color → Zoom slider → Delete. Hover over any bead to see its color code and position!


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Section 02

Parameters Panel (Right Side)

ParameterRange / DefaultWhat it does
Canvas Width
100 (20–200)
Number of beads across the width. 100 = 100 beads wide. Larger = more detail but more beads needed. Beginners: start with 50–80.
Processing Mode
clean / vivid / soft
Style of image-to-pattern conversion. Clean = simplified cartoon look; Vivid = detailed and colorful; Soft = gentle transitions. See Section 3.
Color Palette Limit
50 (20–221)
Maximum number of colors in your pattern. Fewer = simpler to make. 221 = closest to original image. Beginners: try 20–50.
Clean Up Stray Beads
Click to run
Automatically removes isolated single beads (a lone dot with no neighbors of the same color). Makes your pattern cleaner and easier to follow.
Bead Count & Colors
List display
Shows each color's code, swatch, bead count and percentage. Click to highlight on canvas; right-click to exclude that color.
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Important: After changing any parameter, you must click "Reset to Image" to apply the changes. The canvas does not update automatically.


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Section 03

Processing Modes Explained

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Clean Cartoon
No dithering + strong simplification. Bold color blocks. Ideal for cartoons, logos, simple art. Best for beginners.
Vivid
Keeps more detail with richer colors. Best for photos and complex images. Needs more colors to look great.
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Soft
A balance between Clean and Vivid. Soft edges and subtle transitions. Ideal for hand-drawn style illustrations.
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Quick guide: Cartoon / logo → Clean · Photo or portrait → Vivid · Illustration → Soft. Try all three and pick your favorite result!


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Section 04

How to Save Your Project

1
Click "My Projects" in the top right

Find the purple "My Projects ▾" button and click it to open the project management menu.

2
Choose "Save"

Click "Save Current Project". On the first save you'll be asked to name it — use something descriptive like "Cat Pattern 2024".

3
Access your saved projects

Click "My Projects" again to see your full list. Click any project name to reload it instantly.

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Note: Projects are saved in your browser's local storage. Clearing your browser cache may delete them. Always export your pattern as a PNG or PDF backup!


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Section 05

Reset Canvas & New Canvas

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Reset to Image

Re-generates the pattern from your original image using the current parameters. This overwrites all manual edits. Required every time you change a parameter.

New Canvas

Clears everything and lets you upload a brand new image. Your current project won't be auto-saved — always save first!


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Section 06

How to Export Your Pattern

1
Finish editing your pattern

Make sure you're happy with all the colors and details on the canvas before exporting.

2
Click the "Export Pattern" button

Find the green "↓ Export Pattern" button in the top right corner and click it.

3
Choose your format

PNG — Standard pattern image, great for phone reference while you work
Coded PNG — Pattern image with color codes (e.g. H07) printed on every bead — perfect for printing and following while building
CSV — Spreadsheet with each color's code, count and percentage — useful for ordering

4
File downloads to your device

We recommend saving both: PNG for phone reference while you work, and PDF for printing and long-term storage.

🌟

Order your beads: The "Buy All Beads for This Pattern" button lets you order exactly the colors and quantities you need — no waste, no guesswork!


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Section 07

Clean Up & Color Management

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Clean up stray beads

Click "Clean Up Stray Beads" to automatically remove isolated single-bead dots. Makes your pattern neater and much easier to follow when building.

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View the color list

The right panel lists every color with its code, color swatch, bead count, and percentage of the total pattern.

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Click a color → Highlight on canvas

Click any row in the color list to highlight all beads of that color on the canvas. Great for checking the distribution across your pattern.

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Right-click a color → Exclude it

Right-click to exclude a color — all its beads are removed or replaced with the nearest available color. Useful if a color is out of stock or hard to find.

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Quick Breakdown — Copy the full list

At the bottom of the right panel, the Quick Breakdown section shows all colors and quantities in a compact text format (e.g. "H02:2637; H16:793"). Click Copy breakdown to copy this to your clipboard — great for pasting into a shopping list or order form.

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"No noise colors" notice

Below the Clean Up button, you may see a message like "No noise colors (fewer than 10 pcs)". This means your pattern is already clean — no isolated stray beads were detected. If it shows a number, click the button to remove them.


Section 08

Frequently Asked Questions

I changed the parameters but nothing changed?
After changing any parameter, you must click "Reset to Image" to apply the changes. The canvas does not refresh automatically.
How many colors should I use?
20–30 colors: Simple and great for beginners.
40–60 colors: A good balance, recommended for most patterns.
100+ colors: Very close to the original image, but more expensive and complex to build.
What canvas size should I choose?
50×50 ≈ 13×13 cm · 100×100 ≈ 26×26 cm · 150×150 ≈ 39×39 cm
Based on Artkal midi beads (~2.6mm each). Artkal also makes mini beads (~1.9mm) — if you're using those, your finished piece will be slightly smaller.
I made a mistake — what do I do?
Click Undo (↩️) as many times as needed. You can also use the eraser tool to fix things manually, or click "Reset to Image" to start fresh from your original image (all manual edits will be lost).
What kind of image works best?
Images with a clean background (white or solid color) and bold, distinct colors give the best results. For complex photos, use Vivid mode with a higher color count.
What color system do you use? Is it compatible with free patterns online?
We use the MARD color system — the most widely recognized fuse bead color standard in Asia, used by thousands of pattern designers on social media. This means you can take any free MARD-coded pattern you find online and order the exact beads you need directly from us, with no conversion needed.

Our beads are Artkal midi beads (221 colors), and every color in our tool is mapped to its MARD code (e.g. H07, G10, B23). Artkal's color range is one of the largest and most vibrant available.

Ready to create your pattern?

The tool is completely free — no account needed to get started.

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