Free online creative tool
Turn a link or message into a bead-by-bead QR code pattern. Choose your craft, plan the light border and colors, then see the bead count, finished-size estimate, and downloadable chart before you build.
Test the finished piece with your phone.
From link to pegboard
A QR pattern is more than its dark squares. The light background, empty border, physical cell size, and final surface all affect how easily a phone can read it. Use these steps to plan the whole piece before placing the first bead.
Paste the exact link or message you want the phone to open. A shorter address usually produces fewer QR modules and a more manageable bead pattern. Check the destination in a browser first, especially if the piece will be displayed for a long time.
Select standard Perler beads, mini beads, cross stitch, or a custom cell size. For bead crafts, the color menus use named palette entries, so the chart can help you identify what to buy. Begin with a clearly dark code on a light background.
Medium correction and a four-module quiet zone are useful starting settings. Increase cells per module if a one-bead square looks too delicate. Watch the width, material counts, and board estimate as you change the settings.
The scan check decodes a solid-color reference made from the current QR pattern. Download the bead chart to follow each cell, and save the separate solid reference for a quick phone test. The reference check does not replace testing the physical craft.
Place the light border as carefully as the dark modules. Keep the three corner markers square and clear, fuse evenly, and avoid a glossy glare across the surface. Test the finished piece in good light from several camera distances.
Make it readable
A printed code has sharp square edges. Beads introduce round surfaces, center holes, small gaps, and reflections; stitches can pull the grid out of square. The settings above let you plan for these physical differences.
The quiet zone separates the code from whatever is behind it. Keep the full light edge in the chart and leave nearby decorations outside it. Four modules is the default; reducing the border may save materials but gives the camera less separation.
The code works best when the modules are darker than their background. Use the contrast readout as a first filter, then check your actual beads or thread in the light where the piece will be used. Avoid glare and strong shadows across the grid.
With one bead per QR module, a bead hole and the gap between pegs make up a large share of the square. A 2 × 2 layout uses four beads per module and creates a larger target for the camera. It also needs more boards, so compare the live estimate first.
The green scan check tests a solid-color reference generated from your settings. It cannot predict lifted beads, uneven ironing, fabric texture, or your phone’s focus. Scan the finished piece at a few distances and correct any misplaced cells before relying on it.
One QR grid, four materials
The encoded message stays the same when you switch crafts. What changes is how each cell is drawn, how large the finished work becomes, and which supplies the estimate describes.
A 5 mm pitch makes each cell easy to place and inspect. The tool estimates how many 29 × 29 boards the full pattern occupies, including its light border. This is a practical first choice for a short link.
A 2.6 mm pitch keeps the physical piece smaller for the same QR data. Tiny holes and gaps can take up more of each module in a photo, so consider a 2 × 2 layout and test your chosen colors under real lighting.
The preview marks the dark modules with crosses; the unstitched fabric supplies the light background. Set the fabric count to estimate the size and use full, evenly tensioned stitches to preserve the square grid.
Use the cell-size field for mosaic tiles, a painted grid, or another square-cell material. The tool calculates dimensions from the pitch you enter. Keep every cell close to square and leave a clean light border around the finished design.
Plan the boards
Each QR version adds four modules per side. This table includes a four-module quiet zone on every edge and assumes 5 mm beads on 29 × 29 pegboards. It is a quick planning guide; the live preview above calculates the exact size for your text and current settings. Read the QR code margin guide.
| QR version | Code modules | 1 × 1 beads per module | Pegboards | 2 × 2 beads per module | Pegboards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version 1 | 21 × 21 | 29 across 14.5 cm wide | 1 | 58 across 29.0 cm wide | 4 |
| Version 2 | 25 × 25 | 33 across 16.5 cm wide | 4 | 66 across 33.0 cm wide | 9 |
| Version 3 | 29 × 29 | 37 across 18.5 cm wide | 4 | 74 across 37.0 cm wide | 9 |
| Version 4 | 33 × 33 | 41 across 20.5 cm wide | 4 | 82 across 41.0 cm wide | 9 |
| Version 5 | 37 × 37 | 45 across 22.5 cm wide | 4 | 90 across 45.0 cm wide | 16 |
| Version 6 | 41 × 41 | 49 across 24.5 cm wide | 4 | 98 across 49.0 cm wide | 16 |
Pegboards are estimated as a square arrangement. Finished measurements can shift slightly after fusing.
Common questions
It can, provided the dark modules remain distinct from a light background and the code has a clear border. The green scan check confirms that a solid-color reference decodes to the text you entered. Bead holes, gaps, glare, and uneven fusing are not captured by that check, so scan the finished piece with a phone before displaying or giving it away.
For bead crafts, the estimate counts every dark and light position, including the selected quiet zone. A longer link, higher error-correction level, wider border, or more beads per module can all increase the total. Use the separate dark and light counts to plan colors, then keep a few extra beads for mistakes and replacements.
The quiet zone is the plain space around all four sides of the QR pattern. It helps a scanner find where the code starts and ends. The tool starts with four light modules on each edge and includes their beads in the count. If you make that border smaller, keep the surrounding surface plain and test the actual piece carefully.
One bead per module makes the smallest pattern. A 2 × 2 or 3 × 3 group gives each QR square more physical area, which can help when gaps or bead holes remain visible. Increasing this setting multiplies both the width and the material count, so check the finished-size and pegboard estimates before building.
Medium (M) is a practical starting point for a carefully made piece. Q or H adds more redundancy when some modules may be obscured or imperfect, but the same message may then need a larger QR version. If the pattern grows beyond your available boards, first shorten the link and compare the result.
Yes. Pick a dark color for the code and a light color for the background. The palette shows bead codes, while the contrast readout compares their approximate screen colors. Real beads can look different under room lighting, so photograph or scan a small test before committing to an unusual color pair.
Check the full light border, then try brighter even lighting and a different camera distance. Look for a misplaced bead in the three large corner markers, lifted beads that cast shadows, or fusing that has blurred neighboring dark and light areas. A shorter link or larger modules may make a new version easier to build.
Choose Mini to calculate a pattern with 2.6 mm cells and a mini pegboard estimate. Cross stitch draws the dark modules as stitches and treats the light fabric as the background; the fabric count controls the approximate size. For other square-cell crafts, choose Custom size and enter the cell pitch in millimeters.
The calculator multiplies the number of cells by the selected bead pitch or stitch spacing. It is a planning estimate: the pegboard, fabric, tension, and amount of fusing can change the final measurement. Measure your own materials if the pattern must fit a frame, backing, or display surface.
Need a custom image pattern or help planning the boards? Try the Perler bead pattern maker or the bead size calculator.
