Red crab fuse bead pattern

About this design

The body is a wide Red oval with two big claws raised above it and short legs along the sides and bottom. The eyes sit on top, each with a White highlight. It is almost symmetrical, so once you have placed the left half, the right half is the same thing mirrored. Only Red, Black and two White beads are needed.

Bead counts: 83 Black, 83 Red and 2 White, 168 beads in all. Buy a few spares of each colour, because the odd bead always rolls away.

Placing the beads

At 17 × 15 beads the design fits on one large 29 × 29 square pegboard with room to spare. The claws join the body through thin arms; make sure the black outline beads of each arm are in place before the red.

Ironing and finishing

Ask an adult to iron it: ironing paper on top, a medium dry iron, slow circles, and stop when the beads are joined but the holes are still open if you want a lighter look. Turn it over, press the back and cool it flat. At about 8.5 × 7.5 cm it is just right for a magnet, a beach-bag tag or a summer card.

Colour plan

Perler 80-19018 Black does the most work, 49% of the 168 beads, followed by Perler 80-19005 Red at 49%. Perler 80-19001 White (2) is used only a little: small details worth marking on the chart so you don't miss them. 34% of the grid is left empty.

Working notes

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