Krazy StitcherBead size is the quiet setting that decides two things at once: how large your finished piece will be, and how much detail the pattern can hold. Pick it early, because a pattern drawn for one bead size does not translate neatly to another.
How seed bead sizes are numbered
Seed bead sizes use a counterintuitive scale: the bigger the number, the smaller the bead. The “/0” comes from an older manufacturers’ sizing system, so treat the numbers as labels rather than measurements. 8/0 beads are large, 11/0 beads are the everyday size for bead weaving, and 15/0 beads are small and fine. Sizes are nominal, so a bead from one maker, or even one batch, can differ a little from another.
The sizes Krazy Stitcher uses
Krazy Stitcher plans patterns using these nominal sizes:
| Bead | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 8/0 round | 3.0 mm | 3.0 mm |
| 11/0 round | 2.2 mm | 2.2 mm |
| 11/0 Miyuki Delica | 1.6 mm | 1.3 mm |
| 15/0 round | 1.5 mm | 1.5 mm |
Delica beads are cylinders, so they are shorter than they are wide. That is why they pack into flat, fabric-like beadwork. Other bead types in Krazy Stitcher, such as Miyuki Rocailles, Matsuno, Mill Hill, Toho Aiko and Toho Treasure, have their own sizes. If your beads differ from the table, measure ten beads side by side and divide.
What size does that make your piece?
For a loom or square grid, finished width is roughly the number of beads across times the bead width. Fifty beads across comes to about:
- 150 mm (5.9 in) in 8/0 round beads
- 110 mm (4.3 in) in 11/0 round beads
- 80 mm (3.1 in) in 11/0 Delica beads
- 75 mm (3.0 in) in 15/0 round beads
Staggered stitches such as peyote and brick add roughly half a bead to the width, and the height of a row differs by stitch. The Size tool in Krazy Stitcher does that arithmetic for the stitch you chose, so use it instead of the rule of thumb once you have a pattern.
Detail versus effort
Smaller beads mean more beads for the same size, which means more detail, more time, and more strain on the eyes. As a rough guide:
- 8/0: fast, forgiving and easy to see, so it suits beginners, loom work, bold shapes and larger decorative pieces.
- 11/0: the standard for jewellery and most patterns, balancing detail and speed.
- 15/0: for fine detail and small, delicate pieces, at the cost of many more beads and slower work.
A worked example
You want a bracelet 20 mm wide. In 11/0 Delica beads that is about 12 beads across (20 divided by 1.6). In 8/0 round beads it is about 7 across, so a pattern with a 12-bead motif simply will not fit. In 15/0 beads it is about 13 across. The same design at three bead sizes is three different patterns, and the 8/0 one has the least room for detail. Decide the bead size before you design, then let the pattern grid follow.
Choosing for your project
- Brand matters. Delica, Toho and Matsuno beads of the same nominal size differ slightly in shape and hole size, so stay with one brand within a piece.
- Match the thread. Smaller beads need a finer thread and needle, because the thread must pass through the hole several times.
- Check the weave. Peyote and brick stitch lean on cylinder beads; loom work forgives round beads more easily.
- Buy a little extra. Use the Counts tool for exact quantities per color, then add a margin for errors and imperfect beads.
For a closer look at how stitches use beads, see What Is Peyote Stitch? and Turning a Photo into a Bead Pattern, and for color choices read Color Theory for Bead Patterns.