Hama Bead Patterns can be so super useful when creating animals and characters from Hama Beads. We really do love Hama beads. They are a great way to get the imagination going and great for helping develop fine motor skills.
Today we are sharing this super awesome DIY Shark Keychain made from Hama Beads. It's a simple tutorial with a Hama bead pattern to help you along. This could be a fantastic Father's Day gift idea
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💖 Why You'll Love This Craft
- Easy for Beginners: Simple pattern that even younger kids can master with a little help.
- Fine Motor Boost: Helps kids build focus and hand-eye coordination while having a blast.
- Totally Customizable: Change up the colors and create your own ocean-inspired collection!
🎨 Supplies Needed
- 5.5” square pegboard
- Perler beads
- Perler bead ironing paper
- Small bead tweezers
- Iron
- Keychains
🖌️ How to Make This Hama Bead Craft
- Step 1: Use your bead tweezers to carefully pick up one blue bead at a time and place it onto your pegboard. It’s easiest if you start on the left side. Use your beads to make the outline of the top of the shark.
- Step 2: Then use your white beads to outline the bottom of the shark, adding in the few black beads you need.
- Step 3: Leave a small 2 bead opening on the tail like pictured.
- Step 4: Once your bead pattern is finished, carefully place a piece of ironing paper over top the beads and iron (no water or steam) for several seconds or until you can see the beads start to fuse together.
- Step 5: Remove the iron and carefully pull the paper back off the pegboard (careful this will be hot) and peel the beads off the paper and immediately press flat with your pegboard.
- Step 6: Once your beads have cooled, carefully open the keychain and place it in the two open holes in the tail of the sharks. Your Shark Craft is now completed. This would make a fantastic gift idea or a fun Father's Day Gift!
💡 Pro Tip: Take a photo before ironing to preserve layout details in case beads shift, helping you quickly rebuild accurately if needed without guessing.
🧑🎨 Expert Tips
- Grid Centering: Start from the shark’s nose or mouth region and build outward gradually to maintain even spacing and balanced overall structure.
- Outline First: Place the outermost edge beads before anything else to lock in the final shape and reduce shifting while working inward.
- Jaw Contrast: Use a lighter bead shade along the lower jawline to highlight shape definition and mimic natural light hitting the underside.
- Fin Sharpness: Angle the dorsal and tail fins with stepped diagonal beads to create sharp edges that resemble a shark’s streamlined movement.
- Color Substitution: If your exact bead shade is missing, test alternatives on scrap boards first to ensure the full design still reads clearly.
- Tooth Detail: Alternate light and dark beads along the mouth to imply tooth lines while keeping the design simple, flat, and grid-friendly.
💭 FAQs
Arranging beads into a shark pattern enhances spatial reasoning and introduces basic geometry concepts. It encourages analytical thinking through hands-on design.
Yes, constructing a stable bead design introduces principles of structure and design. It lays groundwork for understanding basic engineering ideas.
Yes, aligning beads to form a balanced shark shape helps children grasp symmetry and scale. This reinforces visual math skills in an engaging way.
Following bead sequences trains the brain to identify and replicate patterns. This skill is foundational in coding and logical problem-solving.
🖌️ Related Crafts
Download Template
Grab your free Shark Carft Printable PDF today!
Hama Bead Patterns: DIY Shark Keychain
Materials
- 5.5 ” square pegboard
- Perler beads
- Perler bead ironing paper
- Small bead tweezers
- Iron
- Keychains
Instructions
- Use your bead tweezers to carefully pick up one blue bead at a time and place it onto your pegboard. It’s easiest if you start on the left side.
- Use your beads to make the outline of the top of the shark.
- Then use your white beads to outline the bottom of the shark, adding in the few black beads you need.
- Leave a small 2 bead opening on the tail like pictured.
- Once your bead pattern is finished, carefully place a piece of ironing paper over top the beads and iron (no water or steam) for several seconds or until you can see the beads start to fuse together.
- Remove the iron and carefully pull the paper back off the pegboard (careful this will be hot) and peel the beads off the paper and immediately press flat with your pegboard.
- Once your beads have cooled, carefully open the keychain and place it in the two open holes in the tail of the sharks.
- Your Shark Craft is now completed. This would make a fantastic gift idea or a fun Father’s Day Gift!
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