Beading Basics: Seed Beads

Seed Beads is a generic term used for small beads, although it can also apply specifically to doughnut shaped beads also known as rocailles.  A number of other shapes are available but for beadweaving, the delica, which is a small tube, is other most commonly used shape.

Rocaille - doughnut shaped bead

Delica - tube shaped bead

Hex - tube shaped bead with a hexagonal profile, or six flat surfaces

Bugle - longer tube bead

Triangle - have three rectangular faces and two triangular faces with the hole passing through the triangular faces.  May have sharp or rounded corners.

Drops - water drop shaped with the hole through the thin pointed end

Magatama - are difficult to describe.  It's like one side of the bead has been pulled out.  Sometimes described as comma shaped.

Dagger - flattish long beads which are narrower at the top, they slowly widen then narrow quickly to a point.  The hole is through the top, but goes through so that the beads lie flat with the dagger shape on show.

Charlotte - rocaille shaped beads with one cut facet to give extra sparkle.  They are very, very small.  One of my friends describes beading with them as like beading dust.

In recent years, a huge number of other bead shapes have been developed but these would not generally be used in the sort of peyote projects I am currently doing.  They would be used in bead stringing projects as well as bead weaving projects where the shapes can fit together like a mosaic or be used as the basis for further embellishment with seed beads (or both).  Some of them have multiple holes.  They deserve a post of their own and are not generally included as seed beads as most of them are larger.

Crystal glass beads, such as Swarovski or Czech glass also come in a vast number of shapes and sizes.  These sorts of beads are known as faceted because they have multiple cut smooth sides.  They add sparkle.  Some of them are tiny enough to be considered as seed beads but they generally are considered separately.

Seed beads are classed by size so that the larger the number, the smaller the bead.  I think the original size was down to manufacturers who would have their size 0 bead and they would get 6 size 6 beads on the same length of thread as their size 0.  Generally size 11's are a nice size to work with, small, but not too small.  Size 8's and 6's are also widely available and look great, just giving a chunkier look and a thicker piece of beading.  Size 15's are also widely available and smaller than size 11's, you will need a finer needle to work with them.  Charlotte beads are smaller than size 15's.

The sizing convention is generally applied to rocailles, delicas and triangles but less so to other bead shapes.  Many of the other shapes are described with metric dimensions.  A lot of the new shapes are standard to that shape, so a peanut bead will always be a particular shape and size and are generally described with metric dimensions.  Swarovski beads are also given in metric sizes but suppliers who specialise in these will often include line drawings of the shapes on their websites because there are just so many different shapes.  Many bead shops will stock some colours of the most common shapes and sizes, such as bicones (two cones joined at the circular end and then cut to give facets for sparkle) and rivoli's (coin shaped, flattish but rises to a point on each of the faces of the coin, often foil backed to increase sparkle, they have no hole and are beaded around for fancy designs).

There are three main manufacturers of precision seed beads, all based in Japan.  Czech seed beads are also available as are cheaper, lower quality beads.  Matsuno are the cheapest of the three and their seed beads are a little more irregular in size.  This is fine for peyote and bead loom work where you do not mind a little irregularity, as it can add character.

I am less familiar with Toho as they are not stocked by my local bead shop.

I generally use Miyuki beads.  Delica is a trademark design of Miyuki and the precision and uniformity of these little tubes is great.  They give a wonderful evenness to peyote designs.  That said they effectively look like little rectangles in peyote designs where as rocailles have a more elliptical profile which I also enjoy and use.

For flat beadwork, I would not generally mix makes and I would stick to one size.  Changing the size of beads is one way to introduce dimension to beadwork.  The different brands have slightly different sizing and the shapes may vary slightly and while this may not be obvious when looking at tubes of beads, it is often noticeable on flay uniform beadwork.

The beads come in a huge range of colours and finish is a huge part of the colour effect.  The finish can increase the size of beads very slightly.

So generally I use Miyuki size 11 beads in either seed bead / rocaille or delicas but my patterns will work with any type of seed bead.  In fact That Blue Bracelet was a deliberate combination of Miyuki and Matsuno to give an uneven finish.

Beading Basics: Needle and Thread

Seed beads refers to any small beads and because of the size of the hole, special thread and beading needles are used.  Beading needles are much slimmer than those used for sewing and the hole is more of a slit than an eye so that the needles fits through.  You can buy selection packs of needles which are pretty cheap and this enables you to try different size beading needles out.  If you find that your needle won't fit through a particular bead as it is too small or you have a lot of thread going through a bead, you can switch to a smaller size.

You may find that you want to buy packs of individual needles as you progress.  Size 10 needles are a good size for threading and will fit through size 11 beads comfortably.  These are the largest needle used for beading.  General sizes go to 13 with the needles becoming much finer as the size increases.  Size 15 needles are the finest and can fit through size 15 beads.  They do however bend and break much more easily than size 10 needles and can be much harder to thread.  Another type of needle is known as a sharp and these are shorter needles which makes them less bendy and they come in similar sizes but are generally less commonly used.

I keep packs of size 10 needles for general use and size 15's for any desperately tiny beads, but I use the 15's only when I have too.  I also have size 12 sharps and these are my preferred needle.  Most people begin with the normal length beading needles and never switch to sharps.  It's very much a personal choice.  Sometimes in more complicated beadweaving projects the greater length and flexibility of normal length beading needles is really useful.

Once a needle becomes bent it is a good idea to stop using it as it will put more pressure on your hand as you have to grip it tighter to stop it rotating.  I find sharps break less but beading needles do break as they are pretty delicate.  Sometimes needles lose the back of the eye too and this is more likely with the finest needles, so don't tug too hard at the thread by the needle and expect your needle to survive.

Because beading needles have a slit rather than an eye, beading thread is flat, unlike sewing thread which is circular.  It is much easier to thread flat thread through a flat eye.  When I first started beading, the generally used beading thread was called Nymo.  Nymo was not conditioned so it was more vulnerable to wear from beads and sharp edges.  Before use we would condition the thread using beeswax or a little blue pot of thread heaven, which was less sticky.  Things have moved on a lot since then!

Next came KO which is preconditioned thread and lovely to use.  A lot of professional beaders still prefer to use this type of thread because they feel it gives greater fluidity and flexibility to their pieces.  

Wire was always available but obviously it just doesn't have the flexibility for bead weaving.  I have seen some great bead crochet projects with it and wire work is it's own whole area of beading.  There are some braided wires with a plastic coating on the market though that are really great for necklaces.  I have a reel of Beadlon wire for this purpose.

At some point, somebody realised that that fishing line would be great for beading.  Fireline in particular has really taken off and is now strongly promoted as beading thread rather than fishing line.  It has some of the qualities of wire and some of thread.  It is not to everyone's taste but I personally love it and to date, all of my patterns have been made using it.  It is more expensive though, than thread.

It comes in several different strengths which relate to it's thickness with 4lb being the thinnest and 6lb and 8lb being progressively stronger and thicker.  I am currently using 6lb and this is fine for the sorts of bracelets I am using with no issues fitting thread through size 11 beads.  4lb would be fine to use too.  It does kink a little like wire though!  Also, it is not flat but in order to thread it, you can flatten the end with a pair of pliers or nails.  If you have posh fingernails, don't do this!  Fireline is tough stuff.  I once met a beader who used to do it between her teeth and she damaged her teeth.  Fireline will blunt scissors so because of this, I use cheap nail scissors to cut it though you can buy tougher things to cut it that will withstand it.

Fireline comes in two colours, crystal which is white and smoke which is a very dark grey.  Given the translucent nature of some beads the colour really does make a difference.  Smoke can make projects look duller.  For the sort of bead projects I am completing, the only visible thread is at the end of rows and will not be obvious at all when the bracelet is being worn .  For this reason I tend to use Crystal more.  I would however switch to smoke if I was making something very dark.

There are other threading materials used for a whole range of purposes, often decorative.  Satin cord and leather thong are often used for threading larger beads on to.  C-Lon is also used for beading, mostly for threading but has a huge number of other uses.  It's an industrial strength nylon thread originally used in upholstery.  It comes in a lot of colours and looks pretty but I wouldn't use it for bead weaving as it is too thick.

It's also important to note how you will join and knot threads.  With nymo and KO you would note threads but I always used to place a drop of glue on the knot to hold it.  G-S Hypo Cement was always my favourite.  It's a jewellers glue and is a little flexible, which is great for beadweaving where the pieces are generally fluid.  It also comes in small tubes with a delicate nozzle allowing precise application of small amounts on to knots.

Fireline can be knotted without the use of glue as it is stiffer and holds better than thread.  Many people use a zapper though as this melts the fireline joining two pieces together and removing the tails.  I have not invested in one however and although many beaders I know have moved over to using them.  I think part of me likes knotting and weaving tails in.

If you use wire, you will need crimps to hold beads in place but there are a huge number of findings and options out there to investigate.

Metal findings will rub through thread and fireline over time, so if possible, always have beads in contact with the metal, rather than thread.  The issue is one of movement, so some findings that don't allow the thread to move are much better.  For instance, thread guardians are little loops you can pass a thread around to hold it and the clasp fits into the loop so that the clasp rubs on the loop rather than on thread.