This is a generic name for any small bead. They are round or cylindrical and generally used for loom and off-loom bead weaving. They are also used for stringing or as spacers between other beads. They range in size from under a millimeter to several millimeters. Larger seed beads are used in knitting and crochet with various fibers or soft, flexible wire.

 
Several countries now produce seed beads. Those found in most beads stores come from India, China and Taiwan. While these have improved considerably in the past few years, they are less uniform in size, shape, hole size and finish than more expensive seed beads from the Czech Republic and Japan. With seed beads, as with everything else in life, you get what you pay for.
 
Colors and Finishes
  • Color lined - a color coating is applied inside the beads; sometimes this is not very durable and the color of finished work may appear very different in a short time
  • Transparent - the glass is see-through
  • Translucent - one can see light through the bead, although the light is diffused
  • Opaque - the solid color prevents light from passing through the bead
  • Matte - the bead is textured on a microscopic level to result in a matte finish
  • Silver-lined - a silvery coating which reflects light is applied to the inside of the seed bead
  • Copper-lined - a coppery coating which reflects a reddish light is applied to the inside of the seed bead
  • Bronze-lined - a bronzy coating which reflects a brown light is applied to the inside of the seed bead
  • Luster or lustre - a transparent "pearl" effect applied to the surface of the seed bead
  • AB or aurora borealis - a rainbow effect applied to the surface of a seed bead
Cylinder beads
 
Over the past 10 years, the new cylindrical shaped bead from Japan has become increasingly popular. These cylinder beads are very uniform in shape and size – their holes are quite large in relation to the size of the bead. The ends are straight instead of rounded as they are in traditional seed beads. This makes them perfect for patterns with a smooth finish, that needs to line up evenly and accurately, such as beaded picture panels. There are now 3 versions of cylinder beads:
  • Delicas made by Miyuki. They come in several sizes but the most popular is the 11/0 Delica.  
  • Treasures made by Toho
  • Aiko is an extremely precise bead introduced by Toho in 2005
Charlottes have a single facet per bead to add sparkle.
 
Two-cut beads have two flat facets rather than one and differ in shape to charlottes – they are not interchangeable.
 
Bugle Beads – tubular beads that come in various lengths and thicknesses.
 
 

 

Seed Bead Sizes

Seed beads are measured in aughts  - the number of beads in an inch.  Sizes are expressed as 8/0, 11/0, 15/0 and so on.

 

aught size

mm diameter

beads per inch

6/0

3.3

10

8/0

2.5

13

9/0

2.2

15

10/0

2.0

16

11/0

1.8

20

13/0

1.5

27

14/0

1.4

24

15/0

1.3

25

delica/treasure

1.8

20

European seed beads are generally strung in hanks. A hank usually consists of 12 strings of 20 inches each. This method of packaging offers a fairly easy method of calculation when you need to know the number of beads used.

Japanese beads are sold by the gram - never strung.  Japanese manufacturers supply their beads in larger wholesale packs which are then repacked by the bead store, however some are now supplying beads in small, retail ready packaging.  This usually adds to the cost of the product.

 

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