Seed Beads

Seed Beading History

Part of an age-old artwork and décor are seed beads.  Around 4,000 years back, the Egyptians used beads to amuse their king as in the case of King Tut, of which beadworks such as a pair of slippers were found in his tomb.  Other beaded items did not withstand the test of time and were hard to recognize since the leather or cloth holding them have disintegrated.

In Japan, seed beadworks were found in a temple that dates as far back as the 8th century A.D.  The Indian recording of beadworks were dated to belong to the 9th century B.C. and believed to have been worn on hair or tails of horses. 

Large-scale production of seed beads was believed to be the Indo-Pacific beads from India and other places.  These people dominated bead trading for almost 2,000 years.  The year 1480 is considered the modern era in beadworking, when the Venetians learned the craft of turning beads out of tubes. 

Seed beads are also derived from many types of materials other than glass.  The most popular seed beads are those made of glass fabricated in the Czech Republic and Japan.  Other materials used in fabricating them are tile, metal, or porcelain. They constructed to make pieces of jewelry or decorations of garments.  Sometimes, it can be hard to work on seed beads due to their sizes but practice and a little touch of creativity will help you succeed in this endeavor.

Uses of seed beads

Many centuries ago, these beads were used by English traders as currency or trading items between Native Americans, Africans, and people in their colonies.  The beads were available in different dazzling colors, sizes, and designs.  Beads can also be employed on several designs or to decorate almost anything.  They can be especially handmade by anyone to give as gifts to loved ones for any occasion or to show affection such as love trinkets.

Sizes

The typical size range of seed beads is between 1.3mm and 3.3mm – the larger the numbers, the smaller the sizes of the beads.  Sizes 11/0 and 15/0 are the popular smaller sizes while the typical largest sizes are those in 6/0 and 8/0 called "pony beads".  You can pronounce them as "six-aught" and "eight-aught" respectively.  It means about 8 beads when assembled together measures one inch. 

Types

Several treatments can be done to achieve dazzling colors of beads.  Beads that enclose colors (lined beads) within offer bright colors, however, they wear out in time.  "Bugles" have sharp edges and are created from colored glass.  Other types of seed beads are coated with a metallic film to achieve an Aurora Borealis effect, which the beads are called.  Delica beads take on a standard size fabricated all the way from Japan by a Japanese beadmaker named Miyuki.  Additionally, cylinder and charlotte cut beads are other types of seed beads.