Thursday 4 March 2010

Mixing Toho and Miyuki seed beads


There are many good brands of seed beads out there, but not all shops tell you what brand they sell. And one thing I don't like is if they have several different brands for sale. Why am I not content buying Japanse seed beads? Why do I prefer knowing exactly what brand I buy? Aren't 11/0 always 11/0?

I do mix Miyuki and Toho beads -- two of my favourite brands -- every now and then without difficulties, but you can't always do that. Just look at the square above. I was making it for a contest a few years back so I wanted to get it right, but I never finished it. Because of the beads (and the fact that I don't like peyote). I began stitching with Miyuki beads, but then I ran out! Crisis! What to do? I took out a bag of Tohos, which I had laying around, thinking all Japanese seeds are the same size/shape (knowing Czech seeds have a slighly different shape and the sizes are smaller than the Japanese). Well, they're not the same. Toho's 11/0 are slightly larger and that tiny difference changed the shape of my square. It went from being 9,3 cm wide to being 9,7 cm. It isn't much, but enough to distort the shape. As it's a square it's just so very visible when the sides aren't straight and in a 90 degree angle to the next one.

If the beaded square doesn't seem to lay flat it's because I did start making embellishments on the other side before I finally gave up. Also, I finished off the first and last row by adding 15/0's for less jagged sides.

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