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Glossary of Seed Beads: Seed (Bead) Time & Harvest |
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Written by Debra Ward
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Tuesday, 27 November 2007 |
Seed (Bead) Time & Harvest
with Debra Ward
Don’t you love this time if year! Warm days are slowly replaced by cooler days and chilly nights. It’s a time for sweatshirts, sweaters and hearty cooking. Families come together and the holidays are just around the corner. When the weather here in the northeast gets colder, most change their activities to indoor interests. Beadwork being one of them! Personally, I’m a weaver. I love Seed Beads...those little glass beads with holes that you need super-telescope-magnifiers to find the hole! Any little bead that can come together with other beads to form something to ohhhh and ahhhh about… love it!! Bead weaving in particular. Weaving tends to make some peoples' eyes widen and respond with “Oh, I don’t have the patience for that!” For those of us who love weaving… it’s a blank slate that is infinite in creative possibility. Combining colors to make even the artist Monet wonder how much color and texture to fit into one project. Beadweaving has been around for more than 2000 years, and continues to grow into amazing works of art crossing all cultures worldwide.
 Seed beads are fascinating in their own right. Made from canes of glass stretched into long tubes, the canes are then slice and tumbled making sharp edges smother. Two types of seed beads are easily found. The seed beads most of us are familiar with come from Japan (usually found in loose in tubes) or from the Czech Republic (temporarily strung on string in hanks). These are usually shaped like a donut. They are rounded on the edges, making woven work very fluid like fabric. The more contemporary seed beads are very uniform in size and shape. Japan also makes a seed bead known as Delicas. These are more shaped like a soup can, making them great for weaving as they stack nicely. Both types are great for weaving, and usually a personal preference what type is used or will fit better for the project planned. Both types also use a universal size numbering system. Seed beads are sized in aughts, which are different than millimeters. One source says that the size (11/0) is the number of seed beads in an inch. Another source says that the seed bead size is related to the glass cane used to make the bead. The most important thing to remember is: the smaller the number the larger the bead. Sizes of seed beads are pretty universal as well. Size 11/0 being the most common size used, you can really change the look of your project by using several different sizes in the same piece. I bet your ideas are coming fast and furious now!
For those who love the vintage seed beads, keep watch for irregular beads while working on your project. Years ago the manufacturing process was more primitive than today, but the beads are equally as beautiful! Much of the glass processing then included lead as well. So some colors found in vintage beads are unique. That older process made for more vivid reds and smooth cool blues that are hard to come by today.
 Now we come to color. Only one word comes to mind… Delicious! The colors available in seed beads now boggle the mind and can make you dizzy with trying to find that perfect blue or green. Just when you think you have all the shades of blue you need… another one comes out… and you just have to have it!
The coloring process when seed beads are made varies. Some are manufactured as a true colored cane of glass and some are a neutral bead with a dyed finish applied. You can tell dyed beads as the hole us usually a darker color than the bead. Some may have a metallic finish applied, or are treated after they’re made to “matte” the finish making it less shiny and changes the tone and texture of the bead. There are rainbow AB finishes, named after Aurora Borialis too!
Just as there is a universal size numbering system, there is a universal color numbering system too! If you run out of a size 11/0 seed bead in color #401 and are away on vacation, give the local bead store the number you’re looking for and it should match perfectly. Keep in mind Delicas also have a numbering system which is different from contemporary seed beads but is universal as well. Phew!! No more running short of the beads you’re using when completing a project!
 The colors and textures are endless, and so are the possibilities in your jewelry or art. I have a new appreciation for dyed beads when I was working on a project that was a sunrise and couldn’t find the perfect orange that takes your breath away… only to find out that while holding the work as I beaded, some of the finish came off... blending it to the color I had looked for!! Made me laugh to think I had been so picky on the colors chosen only to find out all I needed was a humid July day making my hands warm enough to change the finish a bit. No worries through… you can use the dyed beads in your work and prevent the color changes by treating your bead work with a product called Krylon. It’s a spray on poly coating you can find in craft stores that coats the beads making the finish permanent. Keep this in mind if your jewelry will be worn against your skin. You can still use the beads, but treat them and the color will stay intact.
I think the biggest challenge in weaving is tension. Easing those little beads in to place having them fit just right, and not too tight so your bracelet doesn’t bend around your wrist! The only solution is practice. Like any hobby or art form, time and patience brings the most reward.
 Seize the opportunity this season to bring about your own harvest. “Plant” a seed bead or two, see what patience and vision brings when imagination is applied. It takes a bit of time. Just like when a farmer plants corn. He doesn’t come back inside the next day and say the seed wasn’t any good because he doesn’t have corn yet. It takes time and care. Like planting love, or spending time with a friend. But when the harvest comes… it’s awesome!
As with any subject, the information out there is endless. Everyone will have their own opinion or theory, a new concept or discovery, a technique or combination that they call their own and will hopefully share. I hope seed beads wander into everyone’s beady vision and grow new pieces of art or jewelry to inspire others. Happy Beading~ |
