Delicas Beads, Often Mistakenly Called Seed Beads, Are Cylindrically Shaped Glass Beads Manufactured By World Famous Miyuki.
Delicas are a specific bead manufactured by world famous Miyuki, Japan's oldest seed bead manufacturer. They are shaped like a cylinder with a large hole that allows several passes of thread through each bead and can be had in a vast array of colors and finishes.
Size 11 is the most popular size of the Delica beads with 944 selections of colors, finishes and treatments in the round cylinders plus another 55 in the hex cuts, which are hexagon shaped cylinders. The diverse variations are obtained by specific glass treatments. There is basic transparent glass, basic opaque glass, and etched glass for a matte or semi-matte effect. Then there are the various colored glasses.
In addition there is a variety of finishes or treatments. "Treatment" refers to something that is applied onto the surface of the glass and can be on the top, sometimes within the hole and sometimes one finish on the top and an alternate finish in the hole. Treatments can include a clear "rainbow" or "aurora borealis" finish, a "pearl" finish, colored dyes, as well as an array of metal coatings including precious metals. Some Delica beads have more than one treatment applied to them in order to produce the desired effect.
Be aware that there may be durability issues with a number of the finishes such as the dyed or galvanized beads. The best suppliers should be able to supply you with the durability information.
Miyuki also produces a size 10 Delica that is somewhat larger, a size 8 that is much bigger than the size 11, and a size 15 that is much smaller. The size 10 and 15 are relatively new and as a result don't come in as as big a variety of colors and finishes as the size 11.
The quality of Miyuki's Delica beads is very high and therefore they cost more. You must buy them from a reliable bead retailer that sells the genuine article. You should know that some retailers have been known to obtain cheaper, lower quality beads from another producer and pass them off as Delicas. Also be very wary if you are tempted to buy at an on-line auction.
If you are purchasing your beads to complete a pattern that gives you the Delica number, for example DB-010, you shouldn't have a problem because every color has a number. However, if you are buying your beads by description you likely will have a problem, as there is not a standard color description for each bead. The reason is that the Japanese description does not translate readily into English and the different importers each have their own interpretation. So it's always best to go by the DB- number.
True Delica beads are a superb choice in any Loom, Peyote or Brick project because they are so regular. They make any pattern line up perfectly and give a clean, crisp finish to your project. There are fewer culls when you are working and therefore they are more cost effective than their price might indicate. And the color and finish range is superb!
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