Types and Buying Information for Seed Beads

The tiny glass beads used for embroidery and bead weaving, or as fillers in strung projects are called seed beads. You can get these beads in a variety of shapes, sizes, finishes and colors, and you can also choose them according to the country of manufacture, such as Japan, France, and the Czech Republic, the first in the list being the highest in quality.

There are many types of tiny beads and one of them is the classic seeds which look like tiny doughnuts. Some other popular types are Rocailles, cylinder, e-beads, cut beads, bugle beads, triangle, drop beads, cube or square, flats, tila beads, and Farfalle or bow beads.

As every bead buyer generally knows, what you pay for is what you get. Many people are tempted to buy some inexpensive seed beads because of price advantage over the other beads. However, your end product will surely not as good in quality as you expect it to be. Cheaper Chinese beads, for example, are more appropriate for rustic crafts or pieces of jewelry that are strung than the more intricate projects.

Seed beads can be purchased from craft and hobby stores and at jewelry making supplies shops online. If you are looking to save in your purchases, the stores on the internet can sell to you at the best prices, most often with discounts and special deals. You can buy these beads in various units.  Those that come from the Czech Republic are sold in hanks, packaged in tubes, boxes or bags, or loose by the gram.  Japanese seeds are sold by the gram, in tubes or in bags; and the French seeds are made available by the ounce.

As you use these beads in your projects, you will gain enough knowledge on how may beads of a certain size will be needed to complete one design. This will allow you to easily buy your required beads.

After you’ve received delivery of your online order, store your seed beads in secure containers, and be careful when working with them. You can use zip-type bags, or flip-top boxes, or tubes; and also some containers that are multi-compartment, but these are not always great for storing tiny beads. To hold the different bead containers, there are racks, totes and organizers that will allow you to make a neat storage and find what you need easily.

Once you start using these tiny sparkly little things, you won’t be able to control your amazement at the ways you can put seed beads together to create a great piece of art. Even if the project is for your own personal use or you intend to sell them for project, these small beads can contribute its part in your creation.

If you are buying beads online for the first time, make sure that you first make a thorough research on the store.  If your project is a big volume one, research also the wholesaler, and deal only with the most reputable one. The internet is a vast field and it contains all kinds of dealers.  So be a savvy shopper.