Bead Sizes

Beads come in many shapes and sizes, and there are standard bead sizes that make it easy to purchase the one you're after. Unfortunately, these standards are a guide only, as sometimes the materials and manufacturers do cause the values to vary.

General Bead Sizes Chart

Subjective Size	Bead Sizes (mm)
Small	3 mm
	4 mm
	5 mm
Medium	6 mm
	7 mm
	8 mm
Large	9 mm
	10 mm
	11 mm
	12 mm
	13 mm
	14 mm

Aught Sizes

Seed beads are measured in aught sizes. A size 11 seed bead is actually an aught size 11/0. The higher the aught size, the smaller the bead. This unit of measurement relates to how many beads will fit in a given area.

Using modern measurements, the chart below shows how aught sizing relates to the amount of beads in a given area, and their diameters.

This should be assumed to be approximate, as many manufacturers use different sizing methods, and are free to vary this by a degree.

You should always purchase more beads than are required, in case there are fewer beads than what these charts have indicated.

Chart of Seed Bead Sizes

Aught Sizes	Bead Width (mm)
6/0	3.7
7/0	3.4
8/0	3.0
9/0	2.6
10/0	2.3
11/0	2.2
12/0	1.9
13/0	1.7
14/0	1.6
15/0	1.5

Sold by Hank

Each hank normally has 12 strands of beads or fewer, unless otherwise specified by the distributor.

The amount of beads, and the sizes of the strands can vary enormously among manufacturers and the bead sizes themselves. Please take the following measurements as a guide only.

Chart of Beads Per Hank

Bead Sizes	Approx. Beads Per Hank
6/0	2160
8/0	3360
10/0	3500
11/0	4320
14/0	6720

Sold by Weight

Bead Sizes	Approx. Beads Per Gram
11/0	120
15/0	250
Miyuki/Delicas (12/0)	200

Bead Sizes for Bugle Beads

Bugle beads are the long, thin tube beads that are used in many projects. They are sold in hanks, which contain 12 or less strings of bugle beads.

Bugle Bead Size Chart

Bugle Bead Size	Length (mm)
Size 1	2.5
Size 2	5
Size 3	7
Size 4	9
Size 5	11

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