What are these seed beads called?

Brys wrote

on Oct 21, 2008 10:13 AM

I'm looking for delicas that are more rounded like doughnuts than cylindrical like a tube that has been cut, but I'm not sure what to call them.  I know that most of the inexpensive hanks of seed beads are that way, but that's not what I'm looking for.  Is ceylon a type of cut or a bead finish?  There's no store near me that carries any seed beads and the beaders in my area don't work with 11/0, so there's no one local to help me.  Thanks for any help.

Briggs wrote

on Oct 21, 2008 11:12 AM

 I don't know about ceylon, but I did order some Toho seed beads a few weeks ago and sent them back because I didn't like their shape. They were definitely more like doughnuts than the delicas. It was hard to tell from the picture on the website that I got them from, but they were more rounded. They were also much bigger than the delicas, even though they were 11/0s. Hopefully this helps!

CrystalCubeBead. wrote

on Oct 21, 2008 11:14 AM

In beads, Ceylon is a finish [, it is also the 'old name' for Sri Lanka, and the name of a city in Minnesota].  I believe Delica is the name for the Miyuki cylindrical beads.  FMG sells Ming seed beads in 11s, and they used to sell another size 11.

FMG's ads include their URL, if you want to look them up.

Stan B.

troll3 wrote

on Oct 22, 2008 2:29 PM

I'll start from the top, since I'm not sure about your knowledge about seed beads:

There are two main categories of seed beads, Czech and Japanese. The Czech ones are like donuts, the Japanese more cylinder shaped (although Miyukis in my limited experience are something in between), delicas and Toho's treasures being the extreme cylinder type. The sizes come from the non-delica seed beads, so it's the delicas that are of the "wrong" size ;)

It would be helpful to know, what you want to use the beads for. Have you seen these beads somewhere? Ceylon treated regular Japanese seeds do have more rounded edges than the other finishes, and it looks like this is the matter for delicas too (from the pictures), but the difference seems to bee quite subtle for delicas. Other finishes have sharper edges, except the Miyukis I've tried.

I would not buy the Ming Tree beads for any project, except for maybe stringing. One option could be what FMG calls Rocailles *rolling eyes*, they are Miyuki's 15/0 seed beads, and have quite round edges.

I hope I didn't confuse you too much, I seem to have a hard time forming logical sentences today... If you can provide some more details, we can probably give more definitive answers. Unless of course, if you already feel your question was answered :)

- Kirsi

SandyA@16 wrote

on Oct 28, 2008 5:13 PM

 You want round (donut shaped) seed beads.  Delicas and Toho treasure beads are cylinder shaped.  You can get Japanese round seed beads from Fusion Beads.  You can get Czech round seed beads from just about any bead seller.  I have used both and you have to cull both.  The Japanese round seed beads are more consistant in size than the Czech seed beads.  It all depends on what I am making.  I like the Czech beads if I am going to be making increases and decreases because I can use the different thickness of the beads to my advantage.  ceylon is a finish.  Hope this helps, Petal

popnicute wrote

on Oct 29, 2008 12:56 AM

the designer of this bracelet claimed that she made it using TOHO round beads. it could be what you're looking for..

wrote

on Nov 4, 2008 4:39 AM

Yes, that looks right Kay.  Toho makes seed beads that are not cylinders.  I have bought Japanese seed beads from FMG and other places, and they are definitely more rounded than Delicas, but less so than Czech seed beads.  Which I use depends on the project.

beadsbeadingbeaded wrote

on Nov 4, 2008 1:00 PM

 Toho beads are a line that Mill Hill offers as their answer to the Japanese Miyuki beads. The shapes are the same, the colors are different, price is more, and color selection is less. Mill Hill also offers 'seed beads' that are better quality then others you may find. Again, more expensive, but much better quality round seed beads. Very worth the effort to invest!

As someone said, Ceylon is a bead color type. You can purchase Ceylons in varried colors, but all will be pastel in shades.

I don't have Mill Hill's link, but I am sure it is easy to search. I once used their beads, exclusively, but now I am using just Miyuki.....seeds, delicas, others.

Erin

Lauren@43 wrote

on Nov 5, 2008 3:57 AM

 Toho beads are actually made in Japan, Mill Hill does have a brand that are made by Toho called Magnifica. These are under the Mill Hill brand however. The Toho beads are the Treasures and of course Miyuki make the Delicas. These are all cylinder beads. Both the Toho Treasures and Miyuki Delicas have simliar ranges and prices, they are also the same size and in fact many sellers dont even distinguish between the two when selling them.

They make rounded beads as well and Toho, Miyuki and Matsuno (the three major seed bead brands from Japan) all have comparable prices and ranges. Mill Hill's range are much smaller and the beads more expensive. Its argued that they are more uniform, and this is the same said about Aiko by Toho (even more uniform than treasure/delicas). The rounded beads are usually just referred to as 'seed beads' rather than delica/treasure/cylinder beads. Or they will specify 'round' as the shape. They dont have a specific name that Ive heard of, other than just 'rounded seed beads'.

Nemeton wrote

on Nov 10, 2008 1:05 AM

 It's confusing, isn't it! There are so many different beads to choose from, all with different characteristics that make them suitable for different uses, and I'm a complete addict so I buy them ALL at various times, depending on what I want to do with them!

Here's my take on seed bead shapes FWIW, from the most cylindrical to the most donut-shaped:

• Cylinder beads e.g. Delicas, Treasures, Aikos: all precision-cut, regular cylinder beads with flat ends.
• Matsuno seed beads: rounded ends and straight sides, not as regular as the cylinder beads - these may be what you are looking for. If you're doing a very regular pattern, they may need a bit of culling to remove beads that are too long or too short, but they fit together nicely in 'solid' stitches e.g. peyote or brickstitch. Some have round holes and some have square. (I love the silver lined rainbow colours!)
• Toho seed beads: fairly donut-shaped, regular, and with nice big holes. (Lots of gorgeous colours including permanent metallic finishes and a frosted transparent lime green that really floats my boat!)
• Miyuki seed beads: also donut-shaped, regular, maybe a little smaller than the Tohos (so if making a big, structured piece it's probably worth sticking to beads from the same manufacturer) and with slightly smaller holes. (Also lots of beautiful colours and finishes!)
• Czech seed beads: depending on the manufacturer they may be a tiny tad smaller than the Japanese seeds of the equivalent size. Some are size 10 rather than size 11 so will be a tad bigger. Donut-shaped, sometimes with rather small holes, especially if there is an applied finish such as ceylon or a coloured lining. (I cut my beadweaving teeth on these and still love them!)
• Suspiciously cheap Indian and Chinese seed beads: Avoid them if you are doing any sort of regular stitching, as the size, shape and hole diameter can vary enormously. (This makes them great for textured stringing and freeform beadweaving though!) 

All of the donut-shaped ones (Toho, Miyuki, Czech) are lovely for stitches such as right angle weave or daisy chain where you want the beads to be able to 'roll' past one another to give the work flexibility.

Hope that helps!

SCB1 wrote

on Nov 10, 2008 5:39 AM

Thanks Lynn, I did a copy and paste and stored it in my document files for future use. That was some great information.

I also like all seed beads. I am so bad that I buy beads just because I like the color without a clue what they will become. And because I am not sure what I will do with them I buy a couple of tubes just to be sure I have enough for what ever I may decide to make.  LOL talk about an addiction.  It is so bad that I have two drawers in my file cabinet full and more in the overflow drawer. See my beading space in my photo bucket album to see the file to see my "Red" file cabinet.

Sherri S. wrote

on Nov 13, 2008 12:54 PM

I'm not a seed bead user, but I've seen quality doughnut-style beads, uniform in shape, in Bead & Button magazine and they refer to them as charlottes, and they are tiny like delicas.  Could those be what you are talking about? 

troll3 wrote

on Nov 13, 2008 3:43 PM

Sherri S.:

I'm not a seed bead user, but I've seen quality doughnut-style beads, uniform in shape, in Bead & Button magazine and they refer to them as charlottes, and they are tiny like delicas.  Could those be what you are talking about? 

All the charlottes I've seen have been Czech - charlottes are seed beads that have one cut surface, that adds a little sparkle to the piece. They also come in different sizes.

I also like all types of seed beads, and choose the type after the project (e.g. netting works best for me with Czech seeds, but I do have two netted cuffs with ceylon treated Japanese beads). It's also fun to make the same project with different types of beads :)