Hama bead color chart

This is a Hama Midi bead color chart with all 92 colors from a community data set. Each color shows its name, code and hex value, plus the closest color in the Perler palette that the pattern maker uses and a plain label for how close the two are. It is a screen-color comparison from an open data set, not an official Hama catalog; see color data and attribution.

The color chart

Search by Hama name (Pastel Mint), code (H98) or hex value, or by the Perler shade a color points to. All 92 colors are listed by default.

How to read each entry

Each Hama color has a code that starts with H, a name and a hex value, the RGB color used on screen. Under it you see the nearest Perler color by name and product code, with a small swatch, and one of three labels:

• Very close: the two colors are within 0.03 of each other in Oklab, a perceptual color space.
• Close: within 0.06.
• Noticeably different: more than 0.06 apart, so a substitution will show.

The 0.03 and 0.06 cut-offs are our own rule of thumb for sorting the list, not an industry standard. The distance compares two screen colors; it says nothing about bead finish, dye lot or how the bead looks after fusing.

What the Perler matches show

We matched every Hama Midi color to the closest of the 103 Perler shades. Of the 92 colors, 23 have a very close Perler match, 53 a close one and 16 a noticeably different one. A few things stand out:

• Names do not line up. Only 5 of the 92 colors share a name with their nearest Perler color (White, Yellow, Red, Light Green and Grey). Hama Brown, for example, is closest to Perler Cocoa, and Hama Green to Perler Dark Green. Match by color, not by name.
• Some colors have no good partner. The 16 noticeably different ones include Black, Purple, Blue, Burgundy, Maroon Red, Matcha and Bright Green. For these, expect a visible change if you swap brands.
• More than twenty Hama colors are translucent, neon, fluorescent or glow finishes. A flat screen color cannot show the finish, so the match for those compares color only, and the entry says so.
• A match is many-to-one. Several Hama colors can point to the same Perler color, and a Perler color can have no Hama partner at all. Searching for a Perler name in the chart lists the Hama colors that point to it; it is not a full Perler-to-Hama table.

Using it with the pattern maker

The pattern maker builds patterns from the Perler palette only; it has no separate Hama palette and does not export Hama codes. If you will build with Hama beads, make the pattern as usual, then use this chart to look up the nearest Hama color for each shade on the material list, and check the very-close and close labels before you buy. The guide to reducing colors helps keep that list short, and the Perler color chart lists the palette the maker matches to.

Open the maker and build a pattern →

Limits and sources

The colors come from the open, community-maintained maxcleme/beadcolors data set (MIT license), pinned to a fixed revision; the Hama Midi file lists 92 colors from several contributors. Hama Midi beads are sold as 5 mm beads, according to retailer listings such as Perles & Co. We make no claim that Hama and Perler beads or pegboards are interchangeable; follow each manufacturer's instructions for that.

Screens, dye lots and finishes vary, so treat a hex value as a guide rather than a guaranteed match to a physical bead. BeadDraft is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hama or Perler.