Make these Chinese New Year Perler Bead Patterns.
Chinese New Year is all about reconnecting, visiting family, welcoming guests, and starting conversations that carry good wishes into the new year. What better way to spark those conversations than with a handmade craft that’s meaningful, festive, and fun to make?
In this post, I am sharing 8 Chinese New Year perler bead patterns that you can use as decor, coasters, or thoughtful handmade pieces during the festive season. These Chinese New Year crafts are inspired by traditional Lunar New Year symbols, and each design carries its own meaning tied to luck, wealth, happiness, and protection.
How to Make Perler Bead Designs
Before jumping into the patterns, I want to walk you through exactly how I created this Chinese New Year perler bead series.
For this series, I mainly used a mini app I created called Pixel Art Converter to customize each design to my liking. Here’s how my process usually goes:
Step 1: Research Images
First, I head to Google and Pinterest to search for Lunar New Year images that inspire me. I try to look for images with a plain background, as they are easier to convert into pixel-style designs.
Step 2: Drag the Image into the App
Next, I open Pixel Art Converter and drag the image into the app. The app instantly turns the image into pixel art, which works perfectly as a base for perler bead Chinese New Year designs.
Step 3: Customize the Design
Before downloading the image to work offline, I customize the canvas size by adjusting the number of rows and columns. I also tweak the pixel colors so they match the vision I have for the final piece as closely as possible.
Turn any image into pixel art in seconds
Upload your image, customize the size and colors, then work offline at your own pace.
All the images I download into Pixel Art Converter are used strictly as references. I often change the designs along the way while making the actual perler bead art, mainly because I am limited by the bead colors I have on hand.
CNY Perler Beads Patterns
Now, let’s get into the fun part.
Each of these Chinese New Year perler bead patterns is inspired by traditional symbols commonly seen during the Lunar New Year.
1: Fu Coaster
This design features the Chinese character “Fu”, which represents happiness, good fortune, luck, and blessings. You will often see this character displayed on chun lian or hung upside down during Chinese New Year to symbolize good luck arriving.
Turning this symbol into a coaster makes it both decorative and functional, a great conversation starter when guests visit.
2: Orange Coaster
During Chinese New Year, it is traditional to bring oranges when visiting friends and family, as they symbolize luck and prosperity. With that in mind, I designed this orange coaster as a festive and practical addition to your table.
It is perfect for guests to place their drinks on while subtly reinforcing the meaning behind this Lunar New Year tradition.
3: Red Lantern
Red lanterns are everywhere during Chinese New Year, symbolizing hope, brightness, and reunion. They instantly create a festive atmosphere, which is why this design works so well as perler bead art for CNY decor.
This pattern is simple but iconic, making it great for beginners looking to try CNY craft projects.
4: Wealth Ingot
This design represents the yuanbao, a traditional Chinese gold ingot. It’s a powerful symbol of wealth and financial abundance, often associated with good fortune in the new year.
Including this design in your Chinese New Year perler bead patterns collection is such a must!
5: Horse Red Packet
To celebrate 2026, the Year of the Horse, I combined two important Chinese New Year elements into one design: the zodiac animal and ang pao (red packets).
Chinese New Year isn’t complete without red packets, so this design blends both while keeping the theme fun and festive.
6: Fireworks
Fireworks are a classic Chinese New Year activity, believed to scare away Nian, a mythical monster, with loud noises and bright colors.
This perler bead design captures the excitement and symbolism of fireworks, making it a playful addition to your perler beads design ideas for the festive season.
7: Nian
The Nian is a mythical beast with a lion-like head and horns. During Chinese New Year, lion dance performances are held to bring good fortune and ward off evil spirits.
This design pays homage to that legend and adds a bold, storytelling element to your Perler bead Chinese New Year collection.
8: Fa Cai Coaster
To end the series, I created a Fa Cai coaster. “Fa Cai” means “to make a fortune,” and it’s a phrase commonly used during Chinese New Year greetings.
When people say “Gong Xi Fa Cai,” they’re wishing each other prosperity and wealth. This coaster design wraps up the series on a meaningful and positive note.
Although this post introduces 8 Chinese New Year perler bead patterns, each design is flexible and easy to customize. You can resize them, change colors, or turn them into magnets, ornaments, or wall decor, depending on how you want to use them.
This post introduces 10 Chinese New Year perler bead patterns.
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- 9 Fun DIY Things To Do When Bored At Home
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