{{short description|Plastic bead toy}}
{{multiple image | width = 107 | image1 = 2022-01-06-Bügelperlen-6920.jpg | alt1 = Before ironing | image2 = 2022-01-06-Bügelperlen-6923.jpg | alt2 = After ironing | footer = Fuse-bead pattern before and after ironing }}
thumb|Arranging a fuse-bead pattern on a pegboard
'''Fuse beads''', '''thermobeads''', '''iron beads''', or '''iron-fusible beads''' are multicoloured tubular plastic beads that can be arranged into 2D designs on a pegboard, and then fused together by the application of a hot clothes iron through parchment paper to form mosaics.<ref name="guide">{{cite web|url=https://www.perlest.com/|title=Beginner's Guide to Perler Beads|access-date=29 Oct 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Eisenberg |first=Michael |date=2013-01-01 |title=3D printing for children: What to build next? |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212868912000050 |journal=International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=7–13 |doi=10.1016/j.ijcci.2012.08.004 |issn=2212-8689|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eisenberg |first=Michael |editor-first1=Pedro |editor-first2=Dirk |editor-first3=Demetrios G. |editor-first4=J. Michael |editor-last1=Isaias |editor-last2=Ifenthaler |editor-last3=Sampson |editor-last4=Spector |title=Toward Child-Friendly Output and Fabrication Devices |year=2012 |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-1-4614-1539-8.pdf#page=313 |publisher=Springer |language=en |pages=309 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-1539-8|isbn=978-1-4614-1538-1 }}</ref> Originally invented as a therapeutic device for the elderly, they were later sold as a children's toy, and have since attracted the interest of hobbyists. Common fuse-bead brands include ''Hamabeads'', ''Perler Beads'', and ''Nabbi Beads''.<ref name="CK">{{cite web|url=https://caknudtson.weebly.com/perler.html|title=Perler Beadsprites|first=Christopher|last=Knudtson|access-date=29 Oct 2022}}</ref> A similar toy, aqua-dots, are spherical beads that are fused by spraying with water, rather than by the application of heat.<ref>Bindeez instruction manual, Moose Toys 2006</ref>
==Description== <!--Some text copied from Bead § Synthetic materials--> left|thumb|Circular pattern created on a board of pegs arranged in concentric rings. Fuse beads are small cylindrical plastic beads that fit tightly onto an array of pegs.<ref name="polygon">{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/23170700/pokemon-perler-bead-tips|title=Pokémon Perler bead creations are my go-to crafts |website=Polygon |date=6 July 2022 }}</ref> The arrangement of pegs on the board constrains the possible patterns that can be produced on that board. Most fuse-beading is done on a square grid pegboard, but there are other arrangements like hexagonal grids.<ref name="CK" /> Tweezers can be used to make bead placement easier. Square grids enable recreating pixel art.<ref name="polygon" /><ref name=":0" /> The beads are also sometimes used to create 3d "voxel" constructions.<ref name=":0" />
The beads come in a variety of colours and styles, including opaque, translucent, glow-in-the-dark, and glitter beads. Beads are either sold in separate colours, or with different colours mixed together.<ref name="guide" />
To fuse the beads and fix the design into place, heat must be applied.<ref name=":0" /> This is done by laying the pegboard with the pattern on a flat surface, adding a sheet of parchment paper and moving a dry clothes iron over the paper. Once cooled, the design is lifted from the pegboard and the ironing process may be repeated on the underside.<ref name="guide" /> Depending on how long the beads are ironed for, their holes may or may not close up.<ref name="polygon" /> Unlike other kinds of beadwork, this process does not involve the use of any thread or wire. However, unfused fuse beads may also be strung into necklaces and bracelets or woven into keychains, like any other kind of bead.<ref name="guide" />
Fuse beads are sold in a variety of sizes, but most have diameter 5 mm, and 5 mm Hama beads are compatible with 5 mm Perler beads.<ref name="guide" /> Hamabeads come in three sizes: mini (2 mm), midi (5 mm) and maxi (10 mm).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hamabeads.com/hama-beads-sizes/|title=Hama Beads Sizes }}</ref> Perler beads come in three sizes called mini (2.6 mm), classic (5 mm), and biggie (10 mm). ''Pyssla'' beads (by IKEA) only come in one size (5 mm).
==History== <!--Some text copied from Bead § Synthetic materials--> thumb|upright|page=3|Diagrams from the original patent for the plastic bead pegboard
The pegboard for bead designs was invented in the early 1960s (patented 1962, patent granted 1967) by Gunnar Knutsson in Vällingby, Sweden, as a therapy for elderly homes; the pegboard later gained popularity as a toy for children.<ref>[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Swedish_patent_217875_S%C3%A4tt_att_f%C3%B6r_arbetsterapi.pdf Swedish patent 217875: Sätt att för arbetsterapi e.d. framställa permanenta, mönstrade skivor samt möstrad skiva framställd enligt sättet], applied April 24, 1962; granted July 6, 1967; published December 19, 1967.</ref> Originally, the bead designs were not fused but glued to cardboard or masonite boards and used as trivets.<ref name="hama">{{cite web|url=https://www.hama.dk/en/hama-info/hama-history/|title=Hama History }}</ref> Later, when the beads were made of polyethylene, it became possible to fuse them with a flat iron.
HAMA began producing pegboard beads in 1971, but they only became fusible by the late 70s.<ref name="hama" /> Peter Schneck and Dee Dee Schneck founded the Perler brand of fuse bead in 1981 in California,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://perler.com/perler-story/|title=Perler Story}}</ref> and the beads gained popularity during the 1980s.<ref name="CK" /> During the 2000s and onwards, fuse beads gained new popularity through online communities focused on using them to recreate pixel art sprites from video games.<ref name="CK" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-pixelated-world-of-perler-bead-art/|title=Inside the Pixelated World of Perler Bead Art |date=23 May 2018 }}</ref> In 2015, a 4.65 m {{times}} 8.70 m fuse-bead picture was created from 1,680,200 beads in Väringaskolan, Sweden, and hung in Stockholm Arlanda Airport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.photopearls.com/large-bead-picture-projects/|title=Large bead picture made with PhotoPearls}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> Buegelperlen perler beads.jpg | Various fuse bead designs Plastic beads5.jpg | Typical fuse beads against a millimetre scale Plastic beads2.jpg | Mixture including translucent and transparent beads </gallery>
==References== <references />
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Category:Plastic toys Category:Craft materials Category:Art and craft toys