Easy to make Perler Bead Morse Code Necklace
You know how Facebook always shows you a gazillion ads on your feed. Most of the time you just scroll on by without paying a bit of attention. Well one day it showed me an advertisement for Morse code necklaces. They were cute little beaded necklaces with beads. Some of the beads were gold and some were colored. The beads represented the dots and dashes of Morse code.
If you aren’t familiar with Morse Code, it’s a code where letters and numbers are represented with dots and dashes. It was invented by Samuel F.B. Morse in the 1830’s for telegraphy. It was used considerably during World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean Wars as a method of communication. Even today it is still used by ametuer radio operators and apparently jewelry makers.
When I saw the ad for Morse code necklaces I instantly thought I could make really cute ones from Perler Beads by using the melting technique I used in my Perler Bead Valentine bracelets.
So I did!
These sweet little necklaces are easy to make and can be done in such a variety of cool colors. They would make great gifts for friends and family because they can be personalized to say ANYTHING!
So let’s get started and make some Morse code necklaces with Perler Beads
Supplies needed for Morse code necklaces
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- Perler Beads
- Parchment paper or Perler Bead ironing paper
- Cookie sheet
- Jewelry cord
- Super glue or E6000 (optional)
It really doesn’t take many supplies to make these cute Morse Code necklaces. If you aren’t sure what kind of jewelry cord to buy, I used cotton braiding cord like the one in the Amazon ad below. You can find other kinds of jewelry cords at your local craft shop in a variety of colors. It really just depends on the look you are going for.
You also really only need 2 colors of coordinating Perler Beads. One to represent the dashes and one to represent the dots. You can see the colors that I chose, but the possibilities are endless.
Melting the Perler Beads
Since Morse Code only has dots and dashes in it’s code you will need to turn a portion of your Perler Beads into dots by melting them in the oven. Normal Perler Beads will be the dashes.
Start by selecting the word or phrase that you would like to be on your necklace. Below is a list of words that I thought might be neat to create in a necklace in Morse Code. You can, of course, choose your own statement to make with your necklace. Like your name or even a simple sentence.
Here is a link to a Morse Code translator if you don’t find what you are looking for on my list. Just type in the word and the translator will give you the Morse code for the word. Simple, right?
Friend: . .-. .-. . . . -. -. .
Love: .-. . – – – . . .- .
Peace: .- -. . .- -.-. .
Confidence: -.-. – – – -. . .-. . . -. . . -. -.-. .
Sister: . . . . . . . . – . .-.
Blessed: -. . . .-. . . . . . . . . . -. .
Faith: . .-. .- . . – . . . .
Fearless: ..-. . .- .-. .-. . . . . . . . .
Dream: -. . .-. . .- – –
Wish: .– . . . . . . . . .
Family: . .-. .- – – . . .-. . -.- –
Mother: – – – – – – . . . . . .-.
Grandma: – -. .-. .- -. -. . – – .-
Courage: -.-. – – – . .- .-. .- – -. .
Believe: -. . . . .-. . . . . . . .- .
Smile: -. . . . .-. . . . . . . .- .
Hope: . . . . – – – .- -. .
Breathe: -. . . .-. . .- – . . . . .
Kindness: -.- . . -. -. . -. . . . . . .
Once you’ve selected your word(s), count how many dots are in the word. You’ll need to then melt that many beads to create the dots. For example the word “friend” has 11 dots in it when translated into Morse Code. So I would need to melt 11 Perler Beads.
Melting the Perler Beads is really easy. Preheat your oven to 400.
While the oven is heating up, place a piece of parchment paper (or Perler Bead ironing paper) on a cookie sheet. I used ironing paper because I couldn’t find my parchment paper, but either will work.
Ready to go into the oven to melt.
Next stand your Perler Beads upright on the paper, like I have done in the image below.
Once your oven has preheated, stick the cookie sheet into it for 3 minutes. In that time, the Perler Beads will start to melt and flatten.
Different colors melt differently, so after 3 minutes check on your Perler Beads. They should be done, but if they haven’t flattened try it for one more minute. Don’t over melt though, I did that once and the holes completely closed.
Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven and let the beads completely cool off.
Creating your Morse Code necklace
All that’s left to do now is assemble your necklace.
Start by cutting about a 2 foot length of jewelry cord. We made these as over the neck necklaces, mostly to keep it simple. You can adjust the length if you want.
Lay out the cording in front of you. Next you will want to string on your Perler Beads from the right side of the cord in the sequence of your Morse Code word.
Basically, you want to make sure the Morse Code is put on the necklace in the correct order. If you start on the left side, the word would be backward. Of course, you could just flip it over when it’s finished and the word would be correct. BUT, if you get confused as to where you are in the dot and dash pattern it’s much harder to figure out if you’re doing it backwards.
Once you have the word on your Perler Bead necklace all that’s left to do is tie the two ends of the jewelry cord together in a knot. We decided to add a dot of super glue to secure the knot. This is unnecessary, but will help secure the knot.
One of the things I really love about these necklaces is that they can say anything, and only the wearer is wise to the statement you are making. How cool would it be for your kids to make them for their best friends? Or their grandparents?
My darling daughter modeling the “peace” necklace. She loves it and she’s a picky teen.
Like I said, there are many ways to get creative when making a Morse Code Necklace. Let me know what you plan on doing in the comments.
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