Ghost fuse bead pattern

About this design

Only four colours make this ghost, so it is a good one for younger beaders working with an adult. The body is a tall dome with stubby arms on each side and a hem of three wavy points. Two tall black eyes and a small round “oh” of a mouth give it a surprised look rather than a scary one, and Blush cheeks keep it friendly. A line of Light Grey down the right-hand side and along the right of the hem adds a little shape.

Bead counts: 23 White, 88 Black, 23 Light Grey and 4 Blush.

Placing the beads

The ghost is 23 × 25, so it sits inside a large square pegboard with a margin all round. Start with the black outline and the eyes, then flood the inside with white; with a big plain area like this, filling row by row from the top keeps it tidy. The points of the hem each end in a single bead, so make sure those are pressed fully onto their pegs.

Ironing and finishing

The iron needs an adult. White shows any scorching, so use a medium setting and lift the ironing paper to check after about ten seconds. Iron the back too once the front has cooled, then cool the ghost under a heavy book. At roughly 11.5 × 12.5 cm it makes a nice Halloween window decoration. If you want it to glow, you can swap the White for glow-in-the-dark beads; check the bead size matches your pegboard first.

Colour plan

Perler 80-19001 White does the most work, 72% of the 417 beads, followed by Perler 80-19018 Black at 21%. Perler 80-19063 Blush (4) is 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.