Using small, tiny beads in homemade designs is called seed beading, and its popularity around the world may surprise you. Seed beads are commonly round, about a millimeter in length, and they have a small hole drilled straight through them. They are most often used for on and off loom weaving, and are usually black in color when they are used as spacers in beaded necklaces and bracelets, but that’s not the only type of seed bead that there is. All small, glass, multicolored beads can be considered seed beading, and these mass-produced colored balls can be woven into fabric to give it a nice, shiny, glossy feel.
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NEW FULL Hank Czech Turquoise Blue Picasso Seed beads 11 0 $12.50 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
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faddish 1000pcs 3x2mm Czech Glass Seed beads Jewelry Making AB063 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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Vtg Miram Haskell Signed Seed Bead Cylinder Dangle Earrings NR $13.00 (6 Bids) Bid now | Add to watch list |
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CZECH 3 CUT BEADS SIZE 12 16 BEAUTIFUL COLORS TO CHOOSE FROM $12.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
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1000pcs 2mm Glass Seed bead Jewelry Making 54 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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AB Purple and Crystal seed beaded fringe $16.99 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
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500pcs 25mm Glass Seed bead Jewelry Making 16 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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faddish 1000pcs 3x2mm Czech Glass Seed beads Jewelry Making AB093 $0.99 (1 Bid) Bid now | Add to watch list |
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LUSCIOUS BEADED 2 BLUE YELLOW SEED BEADS bracelet $9.95 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
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Hotfree ship 1000pcs 2mm Czech Glass Seed bead Jewelry Making B160 $0.99 (1 Bid) Bid now | Add to watch list |
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2 Strands Petite Size Turquoise Seed Beads Small Cut $16.90 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
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Free shipping 1000pcs Czech Glass Seed bead Jewelry Making W 4 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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Free shipping 1000pcs Czech Glass Seed bead Jewelry Making W 22 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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Lot 4 Bead Strands Seed Corn Petrified Wood Nuts and Seeds Amber Glass $9.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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Petite Size Afghan Lapis Lazuli Seed Beads Small Cut $12.90 Buy It Now | Add to watch list |
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Hotfree ship 500pcs 25mm Czech Glass Seed bead Jewelry Making B204 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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Hotfree ship 600pcs 25mm Czech Glass Seed bead Jewelry Making B207 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
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faddish 300pcs 3x4mm Czech Glass Seed beads Jewelry Making AA063 $0.99 Bid now | Add to watch list |
Packaging
There are two different types of seed beading package sizes. The first is called a hank, which is about the size of a small Ziploc bag full of seed beads. Usually, these hanks have about twelve to twenty strands of beads inside of them. The second style of packaging is by grams, which to me is much easier to understand. However, selling beads by weight seems to be purely a Japanese trend.
Does Price Affect Quality?
When buying seed beading supplies it is a good idea to go straight to the company and buy direct, rather than buying store brand beads. Most stores brands like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Kroger, Food Lion, and Piggy-Wiggly sell their own, cheaper beads, but for something that doesn’t cost that much to start with it makes no sense to save that extra few dollars by buying these cheaper knock-offs when really their quality is so poor that not even all the beads in the same pack may be the same size, let alone be without imperfections. Cheap plastic may be okay for your Boy Scout troops and your Craft Day at school, but when you are seriously using seed beading to create forms of artwork there should be no doubt in your mind on which type of beads to purchase.
The Ironic Wordplay Of Seed Beads
If I was an Agriculture teacher, I would tell my students that we were going to spend the class doing seed beading. Then, I would send them all out into the oak forest behind the high school to collect acorns. Using a power drill, I would show them how to make a neat hole through each of the acorns without crushing the outer shell. I’d tell them to thread the wire through, and when they were all done I would send my entire class to the art teacher’s room, to show her our seed beading techniques.