Winter Fuse Bead Patterns: 24 Bundled-Up Animals, a Snowman and Hot Cocoa

Every animal in this set of 30 winter fuse bead patterns is dressed for cold weather. The penguin wears a red scarf, the polar bear a blue pompom hat, the bunny red earmuffs, the reindeer a sweater with a heart on it, and the otter holds a mug of cocoa. Six of the 30 aren’t animals at all, just the things around them: a cocoa mug topped with cream, a blue mitten, a red pompom beanie, a snowman in a top hat, a snow globe and a snowy fir tree.

Three kinds of patterns

The set splits into three groups, and the group tells you roughly how big a piece will be.

• 16 cute friends: scarf penguin, beanie polar bear, earmuff bunny, arctic fox, sweater reindeer, seal, snowy owl in a hat, squirrel holding a mitten, scarf raccoon, red panda, husky in a bandana, cocoa otter, hedgehog, snow mouse, robin and walrus. Most are 45 to 56 beads wide and 55 to 67 tall.
• 8 detailed friends: larger, busier pieces where each animal is holding or wearing something: a bear with a snowflake mug, a penguin on skates, a bunny on skis, a fox hugging a wrapped gift, a reindeer with a lantern, a red panda under a blanket, a husky with a snowball and an owl reading a book. These run taller, up to 76 beads for the skating penguin.
• 6 accessories: all 48 beads tall and 36 to 45 wide, with the fir tree the smallest at 1,123 beads.

Across all 30, a design takes between 1,123 and 3,052 beads (the blanket red panda) and 6 to 12 colors.

Reading charts and placement sheets

The 63-page book is for reading. Every design gets one page in color and one in black and white, with a Z code in each square and the bead count for each color. Those pages are enlarged to fit, so don’t build on them directly. One thing to know before you count: the grid size printed there includes an empty border. The penguin’s chart says 54 × 68 cells, while the penguin itself fills 48 × 62.

For laying beads, print one of the actual-size books at 100% and check the 50 mm (1.969 in) line first. Both books come from the same grid, so you only need the one that matches your beads. At 5 mm, designs run about 9.4 to 15 in (24 to 38 cm) on their longest side, which is why 29 of them are split over four sheets and the fir tree over two. The sheets don’t share any rows or columns: line up the edges using the row and column numbers printed around each one. At 2.6 mm, every design fits on a single page and measures about 4.9 to 7.8 in (12.5 to 19.8 cm) on its longest side.

The palette

Colors are given as Z01 to Z32, the set’s own codes, each with a hex value. They don’t correspond to any bead brand’s numbers, so hold the swatches up to the beads you own. Watch the names: several appear twice with different shades, which is why the codes matter more than the names (see the FAQ). The palette CSV totals 63,592 beads for the whole set, and the per-design table breaks that down for each pattern.

The patterns suit standard 5 mm fuse beads such as Perler as well as 2.6 mm mini beads. Perler has no affiliation with Doodlora Studio. Loose beads are small parts, so keep them from children under 3, and leave the ironing to an adult.

Questions

Two colors in the palette have the same name. Which one do I use?

Go by the Z code, not the name. Z01 and Z19 are both called Cocoa Outline but have different hex values, and the same happens with Warm Ivory, Caramel, Dark Brown and a few others. Each chart lists the codes it actually uses.

Do I need both actual-size books?

Only the one that matches your beads. Both are built from the same grid, so a design looks identical either way; the 2.6 mm version simply comes out about half the size.