What are seed beads?
Seed beads come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most common shape is round, with other shapes being hexagon, triangles, cubes and bugle beads. A cylinder bead is more elongated than round, making it perfect for the peyote stitch.
How are beads sized?
Bead sizes are measured in two ways. The first is primarily used in seed beads and refers (approximately) to the number of beads per inch. For example '8/0' means approximately 8 beads per inch. The second way is measured in millimeters. A few seed beads (such as cubes) are measured this way, the other beads are such as Czech beads, Swarovski crystal beads, freshwater pearls and gemstones.
What are the typical sizes of beads?
Seed bead sizes are typically 6/0 to 15/0 (large to small), although antique seed beads can be as small as 24/0 - dust!
Beadsx measured in millimeters typically come in sizes 3mm to 20mm, depending on the type of material. Beads with one dimension (3mm) is typically round, bicone or square, beads with two dimensions (3x5mm) are typically oblong.
Why use Fireline instread of thread?
Fireline is a wonderful product that adapts itself very well for beading projects. It is actually a braided metal fishingline, which means it will not stretch or fray over time. Fireline can be used in bead weaving or stringing (stringing small light weight beads). It comes in Crystal or Smoke - depending on the color of your beads, and 4lb or 6lb, depending on hte size of the holes of the beads.