Fix any bead
Paint, erase or pick a colour straight on the chart. Undo with ⌘Z, redo with ⇧⌘Z, and the bead counts stay live while you work.
Twin koi · Edit all 960 beads →
Free · No account · Nothing uploaded
Kandi pattern maker
Make something worth wearing.
Start with a moonlit garden, a pair of koi or your own photo. Edit every bead, find your colours, and print the chart for your next project.
Free PNG, PDF & bead list · Photos stay on your device
Made bead by bead01 — 08
Moonlit garden 44 × 20
Twin koi 48 × 20
Prism ribbon 48 × 18
Digital bead previews · Open a design to edit its chart
Your bead workspace
How to read a chartYour next pattern starts here.
1 Start with an image
2 · Adjust photo & colours
2 Adjust the photo
Settings rebuild from the source image. Apply when you are ready.
Your chart is up to date.
P paint
E erase
I pick
⌘Z undo
[] colour
3 Edit your chart
Download ↓Scroll to explore. Choose Edit beads to paint.
4 Take it to your bead mat
PDF: chart + colour list on A4 sheets. 9 mm is square grid spacing, not finished cuff size. PNG: chart image. CSV: colour counts.
Edits autosave in this browser. The source photo is not saved; use a download or share link to keep a copy elsewhere.
Colour symbols & bead counts
W, K, R and other letters are our chart symbols, not manufacturer colour numbers. Screen colours are approximate; compare your own beads before buying.
What it makes
What a kandi pattern is
Kandi bracelets and cuffs are strung from pony beads, and a kandi pattern is the grid behind them: one square per bead, a colour for every square, read row by row as you string. Hearts and checkerboards are easy to chart on graph paper. A pet, a logo or a character is not, because someone has to decide which of twenty-odd bead colours each patch of the photo should become.
That is the job this kandi pattern maker does. It shrinks the photo to bead size, maps every cell to the nearest screen colour in the palette you pick, and counts how many of each you need. New to stringing? How to make kandi covers materials, chart reading and choosing a stitch tutorial. Would rather start from a ready design? Browse the kandi patterns.
How it works
From photo to printable chart
No account, no upload queue, no watermark on the export.
Drop in a photo
JPG, PNG or WEBP — you can also paste straight from the clipboard. One clear subject and a plain background convert best.
Choose your grid
Choose a chart height for your design, or a wider square for a bag charm. Then drag the frame so the right part of the photo lands on the beads.
Fix any bead
Paint, erase or pick colours straight on the chart. Undo is one keystroke, and the bead counts update as you go.
Print, count, string
The PDF gives you a coded chart, a heavier line every five beads, and a final page listing how many of each colour to pull.
The export
Count your colours before you start
A chart tells you where the beads go. It does not tell you that you need 47 white, 31 pink and 9 yellow before you sit down — so you find out halfway through a cuff.
Every pattern you make here comes with a count per colour, sorted by how many you need. The PDF puts it on its own page so you can take it to the craft shop, and the CSV export lets you check the list against the beads already in your stash.
Palette values are screen approximations. Bead batches vary, so always eyeball a few of your own beads against the swatches before you commit to a big piece.
Choose the file you need
- Editable before you export
- PDF chart symbols when cells have room
- Exact count for each colour
- Total bead count for the whole piece
- Heavier grid line every 5 beads
- Row and column ranges on PDF sheets
- Auto-tiling for big patterns
- CSV bead list for your stash
Why it works
Built for the way kandi is actually made
Pony beads are not pixels. Use the square grid to plan colours. Your beads, stitch and tension determine the finished shape and size.
Twin koi · Edit all 960 beads →
Codes, not guesswork
Letters such as W, K and R identify colours within this chart. They are not official bead SKUs; match the swatches to your own materials.
Only the beads you own
Turn off approximate colours you do not want. Applying adjustments maps the photo to the colours left on.
Drop the background
A wall, a table or a green screen disappears with one tick, so the beads go on the subject instead of the scenery.
A list you can shop from
Counts per colour, sorted by volume, with a CSV download for the bead shop run.
Cuff-shaped grids
Lock the chart height to 5, 7, 9 or 13 rows. Check repeat counts and sizing against your chosen stitch.
Nothing leaves the tab
The conversion runs in JavaScript on your device. No upload, no account, no retention policy to read.
Prints at 100%
A4 sheets, tiled automatically for large patterns, with the page range printed on every sheet.
Sizing
How many beads around a cuff?
Circumference divided by bead width gives a rough starting estimate. A woven cuff also depends on bead orientation, stitch offsets, stretch and tension.
Measure a test strip made with your own materials and chosen stitch. Chart columns count colour positions; they are not a direct measurement of a finished cuff.
Use the cuff calculator for a rough materials estimate. Make a test strip in your chosen stitch before settling on the chart width.
| Example chart | Columns | Rows |
|---|---|---|
| Skinny bracelet | 18–22 | 5–7 |
| Band motif | 20–24 | 7–9 |
| Wide motif | 22–26 | 11–13 |
| Bag charm | 9–13 | 9–13 |
Pattern library
A whole design to make your own
Eight original panels, from first bead to border. Open a chart, change its colours, and print your version. See all eight designs or start with a smaller motif.
Questions
Questions people ask before their first cuff
Is this kandi pattern maker free?
Yes. The maker, the bead counts, the PNG and the PDF are all free, with no account and no watermark. Your photo is processed in your browser and never uploaded to a server.
What kind of photo makes the best kandi pattern?
Simple, high-contrast images with one clear subject work best. Crop tight to the subject before uploading, avoid busy backgrounds, and remember that fewer beads per row means a chunkier, more readable result.
How many beads will my pattern need?
The maker counts every bead as it builds the chart and breaks the total down by colour. The same list appears on the last page of the PDF and can be downloaded as a CSV so you can check it against the beads you already own.
Can I make a pattern for a kandi cuff instead of a square?
Yes. Choose a fixed row count to make a band-shaped colour chart. The square grid does not model Peyote or X-base stitches, and its width is not a wrist measurement.
How do I print the pattern?
Download the PDF and print it at 100% on A4 paper. Large patterns are tiled across several sheets with the column and row range printed on each one. Every fifth line is drawn heavier so you can count rows without losing your place.
Are kandi beads the same as Perler beads?
No. Kandi is usually strung from pony beads, which are barrel-shaped plastic beads about 9 mm wide with a large hole. Perler and Hama are fuse beads that are ironed flat. The maker offers generic colour sets, including a legacy fuse-style set. None is an official manufacturer colour chart or SKU match.
Can I edit the pattern after it is generated?
Yes. Click any bead on the chart to paint it with the selected colour, erase it, or pick up its colour. Undo and redo cover every stroke, and the bead counts update as you edit. That matters most around eyes and outlines, where an automatic conversion usually needs a few corrections.
Can I save a pattern or send it to someone?
The chart autosaves in your browser, so a refresh does not lose it. The share button copies a link that contains the whole pattern, which you can paste into a message; whoever opens it sees the same chart and can print it without creating an account.
More to make
Kandi patterns, ideas and tools
- Kandi ideasEvery design in one gallery, filtered by theme
- Kandi patternsCharts with a colour code and bead count for each design
- Kandi cuff patternsBands and motifs built to repeat around the wrist
- Kandi animalsDog, frog, bunny, bear and duck faces at nine beads
- How to make kandiBeads, string, sizing and tying off a cuff
- Kandi phrases generatorType a phrase, get a bead chart and PDF
- Kandi cuff calculatorRough bead and bag estimates; check fit with your stitch
Turn a photo into a cuff tonight
Free, no account, and the bead list is already counted.