Butterfly fuse bead pattern

About this design

Butterflies are ideal for teaching symmetry, since each wing is the mirror image of the other. Here the large upper wings are Pink with a square Yellow spot in each, and the smaller lower wings are Light Blue with Robin’s Egg highlights. A Black body runs down the middle, and two antennae curl up from the head. The black outline around every wing keeps the colours separate and makes the piece sturdy after ironing.

You will need roughly 87 Black, 42 Pink, 30 Light Blue, 8 Yellow and 6 Robin’s Egg beads. Buy a few spares of each, because the odd bead always rolls away.

Placing the beads

At 17 × 14 beads the design fits easily on one large square pegboard. Ask children to make one side and then copy it on the other: it is a great counting exercise.

Ironing and finishing

Ironing is a job for an adult. Cover the beads with ironing paper, set a dry iron to medium and move it in slow circles until the beads just begin to merge, then let it cool, turn it over and press the back. Cool it flat under a heavy book so it stays straight. At about 8.5 × 7 cm in midi beads it makes a spring decoration, a hair clip or a window hanger.

Colour plan

Perler 80-19018 Black does the most work, 50% of the 173 beads, followed by Perler 80-19083 Pink at 24%. Perler 80-19003 Yellow (8) and Perler 80-15202 Robin's Egg (6) are used only a little: small details worth marking on the chart so you don't miss them. 27% of the grid is left empty.

Working notes

All the beads touch along a full side, so it irons into one solid piece.