Although scanning small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) instruments are available, almost no attempt has been made to realize scanning small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instruments because of rather low flux available in the case of neutron scattering. We propose the use of a multi-pinhole collimator–pinhole combination to reduce the beam size to about 1–2-mm diameter immediately in front of a sample. With such small pinholes, we can produce a rather short instrument, on the order of 1–2 m, to have access to conventional minimum Q of about 0.03 nm−1. Because multiple beams hit the same detector at different parts of the detector, the obtained SANS patterns mutually overlap. However, using a wavelength-dependent SANS pattern, we were able to resolve the overlap in theory. We conducted a proof-of-principle type of experiment at the Hokkaido University electron linear accelerator based pulsed cold neutron source (HUNS) facility. We made several multi-pinhole plates with thin beam holes arranged in hexagonal patterns. By changing the moderator and detector pixel size and the instrument overall size, we can optimize the pinhole size and their layout. We conducted experiments using welded steel samples and seek the difference in SANS pattern in the welded and non-welded parts, as well as the heat-affected zone between them. We demonstrated the principle of resolving overlapped SANS patterns from the adjacent beams using wavelength-dependent scattering.