Perler Bead Coasters (10+ Designs!)

Make perler bead coasters with one of over ten unique patterns! These are easy to make for gifts or decor, and perfect for crafters of all ages.

Have you ever tried making coasters? If you’re a beginning crafter, it’s a great place to start. The “canvas” of a coaster is small, so you don’t have a lot of surface area.

This gives you the opportunity to try some different creative techniques – and make mistakes as a beginner – in an area that is usually about three to four inches square.

Plus these little crafty masterpieces, once done, are perfect for handmade gifts. Who doesn’t want to receive a set of coasters? We all have furniture surfaces to protect!

After making a bunch of perler bead patterns recently, I decided it was time to make the most basic of projects that I had not tried yet: perler bead coasters.

Whether you’re just starting out with perler beading or crafting in general, you’re going to enjoy these patterns! I made a couple just for this post as well as pulled some fun patterns in from other posts we’ve done.

The result is over ten coaster perler beads to try!

There are some basic patterns as well as a few that are more advanced. But coasters are small, so none of these overwhelming.

Plus, with the plethora of bead colors available, you can tailor your coasters to fit any decor style. Make them solid, or try something bright and colorful. It’s up to you.

Perler beads are recommended for ages six and up, so this is a very fun craft to try with your elementary age kids. All children seem to love perler beads (also known as hama beads, fuse beads, or melty beads). But don’t be shy – adults love them too!

Tips for Using Perler Beads

Before we get into the coaster perler beads, I want to review a few basics of using fuse beads to make sure you get the best results. If you don’t want the tips, scroll down to the bottom to get the patterns and tutorial.

Remember that the overall goal is to melt the beads together on both sides while still leaving the holes open. Here’s how you achieve success (with a rainbow as an example).

Use Ironing or Parchment Paper

Place ironing paper or parchment paper over the beads on the pegboard. Be gentle so you don’t disturb the beads underneath.

Heat your iron to the medium setting (no steam). In a circular motion, begin to iron the project. Don’t press down too hard with the iron. When ironed properly, the beads will still have an open center. Check and make sure your edges are melted. Let the design cool on the pegboard.

Note: BE CAREFUL about lifting up the paper while you’re ironing! If you want to check, carefully peel back paper around the edge of your design and see if all the beads are melted.

If you lift the paper up quickly and there are a lot of unmelted beads, they will easily fall off or go flying and you may be forced to start over. Sometimes the edges need more time so when you check, just check the edges and peel paper back slowly.

Peeling back the paper to check if the beads are melted

Another Note: some beads melt faster than others (clear melts faster than white, for example). So some holes might be larger than others. It’s okay! That’s part of the look of the project.

Iron the Other Side

Remove the bead design from the pegboard. Flip it over to the non-melted side and repeat the fusing process.

Ironing the other side of a fuse bead design

Remove the Paper

Let cool completely and remove the paper again (which is reusable). Some people pull the paper off after they iron the first side, but I just wait until the end and peel off both pieces. It’s up to you!

Peeling the ironing paper off the finished project

Now that you’ve had a refresher on how to melt the beads, you can get the patterns! Keep on reading.

Perler Bead Coasters

Make sure to check out these important notes:

The coasters are heat resistant to hot drink mugs. I do not recommend using them as trivets with dishes from the oven. If you use them for cold drinks that sweat, glue felt or cork to the bottom.
In addition to square pegboards, you’ll see round, star, and hexagon pegboards. These are fun to have in your arsenal if you plan to do a lot of perler-ing.
You’ll see a couple of the pattern backgrounds below aren’t white – that’s simply to give contrast so you can see where all the white beads should go.

Marimekko Florals

There are two different designs, with 400 beads used in each design total. Make as many of each design as you like. (check out more flower perler beads)

Mini Florals

Both of these patterns are done on small hexagon boards and the gray beads are clear.

Granny Square Inspired

This pattern reminds me of a vintage crocheted or sewn quilt! It’s done on a large hexagon board and you can customize with any colors.

Gingham Coasters

What else reminds you of summer more than gingham? Each coaster uses 100 white beads, 160 of a main color, and 64 beads of a secondary color (I used darker shades of the primary color).

Boho Flair

These larger coasters are done on round pegboards with the resulting size being about 5.45 inches in diameter. I’ve done them in various combinations of six colors so you can see how creative you can get with this pattern.

Donut and Cookie

If you love sweets like I do, you’re going to love these donut and cookie coasters. They’re a little small, just over 2 inches in diameter. However you can extend the pattern with additional rings to fit your cups and mugs. (see more food perler beads)

Harry Potter

We love Harry Potter crafts around here! This set of six symbols are perfect for coasters (get more Harry Potter perler beads).

Mickey Mouse

EMMM EYEE CCCCC . . . kay ee why. If you’re looking for Mickey Mouse crafts, these are fun and make great coasters! You’ll get Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy. The border can include white or clear beads. (check out more Mickey Mouse perler beads)

Rainbow

These coasters make me really happy because they’re just color! Make a set of six with three of each pattern.

Emoji

Emojis make great coasters because they’re already circles! Get a whole bunch of coasters in our emoji perler beads post. (also check out more emoji crafts)

Stars

If you’re looking for coasters in a unique shape, the small star boards are where it’s at. You can make them in holiday colors, as well. (check out more star crafts and star perler beads)