Hi r/Beading, I posted here recently asking whether a bead pattern tool like this would be useful, and the feedback was much more helpful than I expected.

I should say upfront: I’m not an experienced beader. I’m more of an outsider trying to build a tool around the workflow people described, so I may still be misunderstanding parts of the actual making process.

Based on the comments, I built a first beta version of Bead Pattern Studio.

Right now it can:

- import an image and turn it into an editable bead pattern
- limit the number of colors
- show a color chart with bead counts
- show total bead count
- let you edit beads manually on the grid
- preview different bead shapes / aspect ratios, because several people pointed out that beads are not square pixels
- generate row-by-row instructions for square grid / loom / square stitch style projects
- save progress locally so you can come back later
- export PNG, CSV bead counts, and printable instructions

I also added early beta support for double brick and peyote:
- staggered previews
- bead-by-bead / needle-sequence style instructions
- a peyote triangle template

But I do NOT want to pretend those are fully solved yet. From the last thread, people pointed out that double brick stitch and peyote are not just simple rows, and that the useful instruction is often “which bead goes on the needle next,” not just “what color is in this row.”

So those parts are still very much in development, and I’d especially love feedback from people who actually make double brick, peyote, netting, or other stitch-specific projects.

Things I think the beta does address from the last discussion:
- bead counts
- color control
- progress tracking
- basic row instructions
- square-grid / loom-style patterns
- some bead shape / distortion preview

Things I know are not solved yet:
- accurate support for every stitch type
- netting patterns
- bead finish/material preview, like matte vs shiny
- exact real-world bead libraries or brand/color matching
- fully trusted double brick / peyote instructions without maker validation

I’d really appreciate blunt feedback:
- Would this help in a real project?
- Which parts feel wrong or naive?
- Are the instructions actually usable?
- What stitch type should I focus on next?
- Is there anything here that looks useful in theory but would fail in practice?

Thanks again to everyone who commented on the first post. That thread changed the direction of the tool a lot.


I built a beta version of the bead pattern tool from my last post. Could experienced beaders sanity-check it?