A crafts forum. CraftBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CraftBanter forum » Craft related newsgroups » Beads
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Question about Miyuki



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old March 9th 05, 03:14 AM
Beadbimbo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Question about Miyuki

I know what Delicas are, but I don't know anything about any other Myuki
beads. Are all Myukis really consistant in size, like the delicas are?

--
Jerri
www.beadbimbo.com
To subscribe to my mailing list, send an e-mail to: with
"Subscribe" in the subject line.


Ads
  #2  
Old March 9th 05, 04:11 AM
Arondelle
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Beadbimbo wrote:
I know what Delicas are, but I don't know anything about any other Myuki
beads. Are all Myukis really consistant in size, like the delicas are?


Myuki Shoji manufactures a number of sizes, shapes and styles of seed
beads. Off the top of my head, I'd say that any seed beads manufactured
in Japan are more likely to be uniform than, say, the same type
manufactured in the Czech Republic, which are way more uniform than
beads manufactured in India.

The 15/0's I get from FMG are Myukis, and they are very uniform. On the
other hand, they're so teensy it would be hard to tell if they weren't.

I get Dyna-Mites by Matsuno, which are "round" seed beads (ie., not as
squared-off and straight-sided as Delicas, but not round round, either),
and they are reasonably uniform. I don't have to do too much culling
and they're reasonably priced.

Czech seed beads need a lot of culling. I don't use beads made in India
for bead weaving at all.

It's gotten to the point where I can tell a seed bead's national origin
just by looking at its shape vis-a-vis the style it's supposed to be.
If I have a color that I want to use, but I know that the beads are not
going to be perfectly uniform, I adjust my work accordingly by
alternating "fat" beads and "thin" beads in a row. There are also
instances when having fat beads and thin beads is useful, such as for
doing beaded beads where you have to increase and decrease the number of
beads in a row.

Arondelle
--
================================================== =========
To email me, empty the pond with a net

  #3  
Old March 9th 05, 05:45 AM
mermaidscove_com
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Yes, they make some fine trim beads too, triangles, cubes and 8/0
cylinders. So Does Toho. I think Toho's triangle beads are really
nicely made. Miyuki makes triangles too but they are different, more
rounded and slightly more uniform but Toho's got nicer finishes in trim
beads, I think. Besides uniformity of size the japanese beads also have
more durable finishes in most cases.

Here's a link to their website, they don't have much there but there
are some pictures
http://www.miyuki-beads.co.jp/beads.html

  #4  
Old March 9th 05, 08:16 AM
mermaidscove_com
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

....Went to your website www.beadbimbo.com and I love your tree beads,
also the butterbean page had me in stitches!
That link I gave you to Miyuki, I don't know for sure if that's the
official Miyuki site but it's got pictures of all their beads and a lot
of project pictures as well. I don't read japanese though so I'm not
sure what all the text says.

Ingrid
http://www.mermaidscove.com

  #5  
Old March 9th 05, 01:38 PM
Beadbimbo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks Ingrid!

I was trying to think of a St. Patrick's theme for Butterbean, but I may
have to do it with Click Art, since I don't have a green costume for her. I
think I bought a costume, one time, to make a Christmas picture, and it's
become an obsession! Lol. I've had people e-mail her picture on to other
people, and it makes me feel good to know she gives people a chuckle.

I love the peyote patterns on your site, especially that ocean and that
leaf one! (Even though I've sworn to NEVER to peyote again after my one
experience!)

--
Jerri
www.beadbimbo.com
To subscribe to my mailing list, send an e-mail to: with
"Subscribe" in the subject line.
"mermaidscove_com" wrote in message
oups.com...
...Went to your website
www.beadbimbo.com and I love your tree beads,
also the butterbean page had me in stitches!
That link I gave you to Miyuki, I don't know for sure if that's the
official Miyuki site but it's got pictures of all their beads and a lot
of project pictures as well. I don't read japanese though so I'm not
sure what all the text says.

Ingrid
http://www.mermaidscove.com



  #6  
Old March 9th 05, 01:39 PM
Beadbimbo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks Arondelle! You gave me a lot of helpful information!

--
Jerri
www.beadbimbo.com
To subscribe to my mailing list, send an e-mail to: with
"Subscribe" in the subject line.
"Arondelle" wrote in message
news:APtXd.72223$uc.49165@trnddc08...
Beadbimbo wrote:
I know what Delicas are, but I don't know anything about any other Myuki
beads. Are all Myukis really consistant in size, like the delicas are?


Myuki Shoji manufactures a number of sizes, shapes and styles of seed
beads. Off the top of my head, I'd say that any seed beads manufactured
in Japan are more likely to be uniform than, say, the same type
manufactured in the Czech Republic, which are way more uniform than beads
manufactured in India.

The 15/0's I get from FMG are Myukis, and they are very uniform. On the
other hand, they're so teensy it would be hard to tell if they weren't.

I get Dyna-Mites by Matsuno, which are "round" seed beads (ie., not as
squared-off and straight-sided as Delicas, but not round round, either),
and they are reasonably uniform. I don't have to do too much culling and
they're reasonably priced.

Czech seed beads need a lot of culling. I don't use beads made in India
for bead weaving at all.

It's gotten to the point where I can tell a seed bead's national origin
just by looking at its shape vis-a-vis the style it's supposed to be. If I
have a color that I want to use, but I know that the beads are not going
to be perfectly uniform, I adjust my work accordingly by alternating "fat"
beads and "thin" beads in a row. There are also instances when having fat
beads and thin beads is useful, such as for doing beaded beads where you
have to increase and decrease the number of beads in a row.

Arondelle
--
================================================== =========
To email me, empty the pond with a net



  #7  
Old March 9th 05, 01:49 PM
Kathy N-V
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 21:14:38 -0500, Beadbimbo wrote
(in message ):

I know what Delicas are, but I don't know anything about any other Myuki
beads. Are all Myukis really consistant in size, like the delicas are?


warning: long Kathy N-V-ish answer ahead, involving her scientific
observations and comparisons and general geekiness. Proceed at your
own peril.


Other Miyuki products are not as consistent as Delicas. (And Delicas
tend to be less consistent than Toho Treasures, but Toho Treasures
have a far smaller color selection) They are worlds more consistent
than Czech, Indian or Taiwanese seed beads, but they still do need
some culling. I've found that the cube beads from Miyuki have the
roughest edges and need the most attention, with solid colors
requiring more culling than the color lined, for some reason. The
Miyuki triangle beads are the smoothest (almost a "round" triangle,
if you know what I mean), and I rarely throw one away.

If you want incredible consistency, take a look at Toho Aiko beads.
They're even smaller than Delicas, and are astonishingly consistent.
I was sent a small sample, and worked it up to see how the finished
product looked. A tiny sample of Aiko beads looks a lot like
micro-mosaics. Very, very pretty, but rather tough on the eyes of
the beadworker. If you like working with 15/0 beads, you'll love
these.

The three well known Japanese beadmakers have seed bead products that
are very consistent compared to beads from other countries, and I'm
sure that long time bead artists would think we're spoiled compared
to the (pardon me) junk that was the norm even a decade ago. But
seed beads still require some culling - how much really depends on
the stitch you're using. A forgiving stitch (like Ndebele) or bead
embroidery can use beads that would look horrid in loomwork or
charted peyote stitch.

Personally, I find that Toho beads are my favorite, but Miyukis are
easier to find. If I'm not mistaken, Matsuno beads are the ones that
FMG sells as Dyna-mites. All three are subtly different from each
another, although they can usually be used together in the same
project - unlike mixing say Czech and Japanese beads in a loomwork
project. (eww) Czech seed beads require more culling than Japanese
ones, but they have their own really nice qualities as well. The
shape is completely different (think donut compared to pipe), and the
color selection is a lot nicer (especially in the pinks and purples,
which the Japanese have never really gotten down perfectly, IMNSHO)

I even have a place (a very small and limited place) for cheap seed
beads from Taiwan or India. If I can find a truly unusual color and
enough to do an entire project (color matching over time is something
that hasn't happened there yet), I'll buy the beads. They make a
very "organic," somewhat roughly finished final product. I've yet to
find find a bead that simulates the texture of tree bark than a
Taiwanese seed, and I love them for the cores of certain types of
spirals.

If a specific batch of beads I buy has an unusual amount of culls
(say anything over ~5% for Japanese seed beads, or ~10% for cubes), I
mention it to the person who sold them to me. They've always come
through and given me some replacements, and I assume that they've
complained further up the food chain to their supplier. Since I buy
my beads by the half kilo or more, and usually a bunch of colors at a
time, I assume that the vendor I used got a bad batch from the
manufacturer. A given 5 gram tube of beads could be a bad roll of
the beady dice, but a whole kilo? No way.

BTW, if you like seed beading, I highly recommend buying a few colors
in the large half-kilo or quarter-kilo packages (100g for cylinder
beads). I go through black and white like crazy, and always buy
large packages of those, in many different sizes and finishes. When
you consider the cost between a tube and a bulk package, you'll be
shocked at how much less your cost per gram will be by just buying
those colors in bulk.

The finish treatment effects the consistency of the beads as well. I
seldom use galvanized beads, but when I do, I've noticed that they
often have beads sticking together - I assume it's from the way that
the paint dries on the beads. Matte beads tend to be smaller than
shiny beads of the same type, because the etching process removes
some glass. With coated beads, it's the opposite effect. But these
are subtle, fussy inconsistencies - nothing that a non-beader would
ever notice.

So the answer to your question is that Miyuki and other Japanese
beads are the most consistent seed beads you will find in today's
marketplace. However, we still have not reached the stage where
culling is unnecessary. I am okay with this, because the labor
required for such a process would make the cost of the beads
prohibitively high, and because there are times where a slight range
of sizes adds interest to my work.

Kathy N-V

P.S.: Someday I'll give a concise answer and will fall over dead
from the shock. I feel a huge emotional need to cover all the
information I've found, even when asked a simple question. Mea
culpa.


  #8  
Old March 9th 05, 05:27 PM
Beadbimbo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks Kathy!

No, don't give me a short, concise answer! That was a lot of
interesting reading. I've never seen Toho beads. I have a lot to learn.

--
Jerri
www.beadbimbo.com
To subscribe to my mailing list, send an e-mail to: with
"Subscribe" in the subject line.


"Kathy N-V" wrote in message
. giganews.com...
On Tue, 8 Mar 2005 21:14:38 -0500, Beadbimbo wrote
(in message ):

I know what Delicas are, but I don't know anything about any other Myuki
beads. Are all Myukis really consistant in size, like the delicas are?


warning: long Kathy N-V-ish answer ahead, involving her scientific
observations and comparisons and general geekiness. Proceed at your
own peril.


Other Miyuki products are not as consistent as Delicas. (And Delicas
tend to be less consistent than Toho Treasures, but Toho Treasures
have a far smaller color selection) They are worlds more consistent
than Czech, Indian or Taiwanese seed beads, but they still do need
some culling. I've found that the cube beads from Miyuki have the
roughest edges and need the most attention, with solid colors
requiring more culling than the color lined, for some reason. The
Miyuki triangle beads are the smoothest (almost a "round" triangle,
if you know what I mean), and I rarely throw one away.

If you want incredible consistency, take a look at Toho Aiko beads.
They're even smaller than Delicas, and are astonishingly consistent.
I was sent a small sample, and worked it up to see how the finished
product looked. A tiny sample of Aiko beads looks a lot like
micro-mosaics. Very, very pretty, but rather tough on the eyes of
the beadworker. If you like working with 15/0 beads, you'll love
these.

The three well known Japanese beadmakers have seed bead products that
are very consistent compared to beads from other countries, and I'm
sure that long time bead artists would think we're spoiled compared
to the (pardon me) junk that was the norm even a decade ago. But
seed beads still require some culling - how much really depends on
the stitch you're using. A forgiving stitch (like Ndebele) or bead
embroidery can use beads that would look horrid in loomwork or
charted peyote stitch.

Personally, I find that Toho beads are my favorite, but Miyukis are
easier to find. If I'm not mistaken, Matsuno beads are the ones that
FMG sells as Dyna-mites. All three are subtly different from each
another, although they can usually be used together in the same
project - unlike mixing say Czech and Japanese beads in a loomwork
project. (eww) Czech seed beads require more culling than Japanese
ones, but they have their own really nice qualities as well. The
shape is completely different (think donut compared to pipe), and the
color selection is a lot nicer (especially in the pinks and purples,
which the Japanese have never really gotten down perfectly, IMNSHO)

I even have a place (a very small and limited place) for cheap seed
beads from Taiwan or India. If I can find a truly unusual color and
enough to do an entire project (color matching over time is something
that hasn't happened there yet), I'll buy the beads. They make a
very "organic," somewhat roughly finished final product. I've yet to
find find a bead that simulates the texture of tree bark than a
Taiwanese seed, and I love them for the cores of certain types of
spirals.

If a specific batch of beads I buy has an unusual amount of culls
(say anything over ~5% for Japanese seed beads, or ~10% for cubes), I
mention it to the person who sold them to me. They've always come
through and given me some replacements, and I assume that they've
complained further up the food chain to their supplier. Since I buy
my beads by the half kilo or more, and usually a bunch of colors at a
time, I assume that the vendor I used got a bad batch from the
manufacturer. A given 5 gram tube of beads could be a bad roll of
the beady dice, but a whole kilo? No way.

BTW, if you like seed beading, I highly recommend buying a few colors
in the large half-kilo or quarter-kilo packages (100g for cylinder
beads). I go through black and white like crazy, and always buy
large packages of those, in many different sizes and finishes. When
you consider the cost between a tube and a bulk package, you'll be
shocked at how much less your cost per gram will be by just buying
those colors in bulk.

The finish treatment effects the consistency of the beads as well. I
seldom use galvanized beads, but when I do, I've noticed that they
often have beads sticking together - I assume it's from the way that
the paint dries on the beads. Matte beads tend to be smaller than
shiny beads of the same type, because the etching process removes
some glass. With coated beads, it's the opposite effect. But these
are subtle, fussy inconsistencies - nothing that a non-beader would
ever notice.

So the answer to your question is that Miyuki and other Japanese
beads are the most consistent seed beads you will find in today's
marketplace. However, we still have not reached the stage where
culling is unnecessary. I am okay with this, because the labor
required for such a process would make the cost of the beads
prohibitively high, and because there are times where a slight range
of sizes adds interest to my work.

Kathy N-V

P.S.: Someday I'll give a concise answer and will fall over dead
from the shock. I feel a huge emotional need to cover all the
information I've found, even when asked a simple question. Mea
culpa.




  #9  
Old March 9th 05, 05:59 PM
Barbara Forbes-Lyons
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

The FMG Dynamites are made in either China or Taiwan. I don't believe they
are Miyuki Matsunos.

--
--
Barbara
www.penguintrax.com

eBay: penguintrax
Justbeadsenguintrax

0
/O\


There is a very fine line between a hobby and mental illness.
(Dave Barry)

Need quality, inexpensive web hosting? Check out http://www.lyonshost.com.
Shopping carts, blogs, image galleries, content management and more!


  #10  
Old March 9th 05, 06:58 PM
Arondelle
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Barbara Forbes-Lyons wrote:
The FMG Dynamites are made in either China or Taiwan. I don't believe they
are Miyuki Matsunos.


It states in the paper catalog that they are, in fact, Matsunos. Not
Miyuki Matsuno, just Matsuno. The boxes are also marked "Made in
Japan". They are well-rounded cylinders, and on the whole, quite
uniform, unlike the typical Chinese or Taiwanese bead.

I use them all the time, and don't have a major problem with culling.

Arondelle
--
================================================== =========
To email me, empty the pond with a net

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
A question for lampworkers Diana Curtis Beads 42 May 7th 04 07:26 PM
Question about count Amberinauburn Needlework 22 April 21st 04 12:09 AM
Not really an AD, but a marketing question, need advice Kandice Seeber Beads 26 April 4th 04 10:39 AM
New Question - Purl Stitch Kristy Malarkey Yarn 10 January 20th 04 01:25 AM
Traditional Cross Stitch Method Question Jacquard_The_Ripper Needlework 4 July 31st 03 06:40 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:07 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CraftBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.