Watermelon slice fuse bead pattern

About this design

The slice is a neat half circle with the cut edge across the top. The rind is built from three single-bead rings: Dark Green on the outside, Kiwi Lime next and a band of Creme where rind meets fruit. The flesh is Tomato with a top row of Hot Coral, which makes the cut surface look fresh and a touch lighter. Pairs of Cocoa beads stand in for the seeds; they are dark enough to read as seeds without merging into the black outline.

Bead counts: 139 Tomato, 66 Black, 37 Dark Green, 35 Kiwi Lime, 29 Creme, 15 Hot Coral and 16 Cocoa.

Placing the beads

At 29 beads wide this uses the full width of a large square pegboard, but only 15 rows, so it is a quick first project. Place the black outline row along the top first and use it as a ruler. Then build the rind from the outside in, one ring at a time, and finish with the seeds and the red. The pattern is symmetric, so you can check each row by counting from both ends.

Ironing and finishing

Please have an adult do the ironing. Cover with ironing paper and iron on medium in slow circles, then flip and do the back once it has cooled a little. Thin curved rinds can lift at the corners, so cool the slice under a heavy book. The finished piece is about 14.5 × 7.5 cm — good for a picnic-themed magnet, a summer garland or a tray of party decorations.

Colour plan

Perler 80-15211 Tomato does the most work, 40% of the 347 beads, followed by Perler 80-19018 Black at 19%. Every colour is used at least 16 times, so there are no tiny one-off details to hunt for. 20% of the grid is left empty.

Working notes

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