Miyuki Delica Beads

Miyuki Japanese Seed Beads

About 60 years ago, Seiichi Katsuoka first came across some glass seed beads and instantly became fascinated by their brilliance and beauty, so in 1949, he dedicated himself to learning the art of glass seed bead making.

Seiichi's passion for making beautiful, high quality glass seed beads was passed down to his son, Hiroshi. Hiroshi added innovation to passion and began creating new types and styles of beads.

This resulted in the founding of the Miyuki company; Japan's first successful mass-producing bead manufacturing company. Since then MIYUKI have been continuing Hiroshi's innovative drive, and has produced many new and wonderful kinds of beads, like Delica Beads, Drop Beads, and Twisted Beads, to name a few. Miyuki has pledged to keep developing attractive and beautiful beads. MIYUKI glass beads are considered a "world standard" for their high quality, brilliance, and uniform shape. They are highly sought after by fashion designers, artists and bead fans alike.

Miyuki Delica Beads are cylinder shaped Japanese glass seed beads. Delica beads were first created by Miyuki in 1982 as a modern replacement for antique French metal 3-cut "steel cut" beads. They are now available in four sizes – 15/0, 11/0, 10/0 and 8/0. There are at least one thousand colors available in the most popular 11/0 size, and each year Miyuki develops more colors and finishes.

Delicas are preferred for peyote stitch, brick stitch, and weaving on looms because their cylinder shape gives the finished piece a flat surface which maximizes any design or pattern. Their exceptional uniformity of size and shape create tiny rectangles which lock together to present an unbroken surface. Bead artists have used them to create detailed portraits and sculptures with each bead acting as a single pixel of color.

Delica Beads also have a proportionally thin wall and large hole for their size which allows more threads to pass through the woven work. As every beader knows, this gives you more room for invention as well as being helpful for correcting mistakes or securing the finished ends. We recommend Delicas (especially the largest 8/0 size) as perfect for beginners learning peyote or brick stitch, since it is easy to see when you make a mistake.

Wandering Wapos can custom order Delica Beads in any colour that you require from the newest Duracoat Dyed and Galvanized colors which last longer than the previous versions.

Please feel free to contact us anytime.