I have lived under the illusion that there is nothing better, nothing more regular than Miyuki in seed beads. But now that I have been Toho-ized, Toho seedbeads get my big thumbs up as far as their round seed beads are concerned.
Toho seed beads size to size, seems to be a tat larger (but much more regular) than Miyuki’s round seed beads. For example, a Toho size 11/0 seems a tat larger than a Miyuki size 11/0. (But I still combine them in my works.)
The difference that makes the real difference is that Toho seed beads end up being much more regular with minimal wastage. And Toho round seed beads feel better to work with. It may be my imagination, but I also find that the holes in the Toho round seed beads have nicer rounded edges and are nice and large.
As you can see from the photo below, Toho round seed beads produce the best results.
Miyuki vs Toho round seed beads
Of course I still love my Miyuki round seed beads but dollar for dollar, I would be more likely to buy Toho round seed beads in future.
Miyuki Delica vs Toho Treasures
The cylinder seed bead is like a tiny cylinder tube. It is highly loved for bead looming and square stitch and for producing a flater, neater, bead woven surface.
Miyuki’s cylinder bead is called Delica.
Toho’s cylinder bead is called Treasures.
I don’t have any experience with Treasures to be able to do a comparison. I do love my Delicas. However from what I have found in my Google research, there is very little difference in the final look and outcome. In fact, it is said that you can use Treasure and Delica interchangeably.
However there is nothing like personal experience and I am sure that one day, I will be irresistibly tempted into buying a lot of Treasures! 😀
References:
- bigbeadlittlebead.com: Seed Beads Guide including History, Processes, Sizing, Shapes & Coatings (useful for conversion of seed beads from aught size to millimeter size)
- bigbeadlittlebead.com: Guide to Bugle Beads (just for a bit of extra info! )
- lindaklandy.com: Seed Bead Manufacturers Variations
Is there a website that compares Toho (Treasure) colors to Miyuki (Delica) colors? Or even their round beads? I have all my kagillion beads logged on a spreadsheet so I actually know exactly what I have, but I don’t have interchangeable numbers I could used if I wanted to swap out all Miyuki’s with Toho’s, or vice versa. (Can’t mix the two in a pattern if you need precision – BIG disaster.) Thanks!
I have some old TOHO beads in760/776-5826 and want to have them in Delicas. Is there such a thing
I just finished a loom seed beaded bracelet. The pattern called for TOHO size 11 seed beads. I accidentally ordered Miyuki size 11 seed beads. My finished bracelet size was 5″ long x 1.75″ wide.
If I would have used the TOHO seed beads as the pattern called for the finished size was suppose to be 7″ long x 2″ wide.
I will have to buy a clasp with a 3″ extender as the bracelet does not fit my wrist. I lost a whole 2″ in length. Dag Nabit!
wow! that is quite a difference. Though there was less loss width-wise huh?
Pity you can’t just bead weave on the extra length you need. Can you?
Are you going to have another go with Toho to see how it turns out Devra?
I agree, I like the took of Toho better. I like the samples above, nice way to show the difference in shape.
Though, I am often amused at the claims of superior size and shape consistency with Japanese beads… I’ve had difficulty with several projects trying to find the color combination that will also work because the colors are such different sizes (most often a length problem) that the parts do not fit properly. I also had a problem with Toho beads, the beads were not sufficiently rounded on the edge and after hours of work found the threads had been cut by sharp bead edges. Toho said there had been a problem with some batches of beads but they now had that taken care of… sadly, they did not “recall” the sharp edge beads… so buyers were still receiving them.
I do like the slightly more rounded shape of Toho and I like the way light looks on their beads the best. Some day… I will have all the colors 😉
Hi there Cerise. Thanks for dropping by. Yes I think the comparison pic (by Linda K. Landy) is very handy too.
I have not personally come across Toho beads that have sharp enough edges to cut my threads. However I could just be lucky in having gotten the later “rectified” batches from Toho.
I once also wished I could have a full collection of Toho, Miyuki etc. in all their myriad sizes … but I now know I would have to be quite a millionaire to afford that!!! Especially as the new size, shape, colours are never ending 😀
I have always loved working with spreadsheets, be it my home budget or whatever. So naturally I developed a spreadsheet itemizing all my beads, crystals, anything that has a name or number in the beading world. Having 25+ plastic cartons filled with these little treasures, it’s much easier to tell if I have a certain color or item. Yes, I too wish to own every color ever made! I DO wish that Swarovski numbered their gems instead of just using a name. Any idea why they don’t?
Hi Mary, thank you for dropping by. Wow, that is a lot of treasures you have there!! (Feeling envious!)
Swarovski does in fact number their gems. They have numbering (codes) for their various gems as well as for their colours. I think is it not as well known coz users seem to know their Swarovski more by their names than by their numbers.
You can view an example of Swarovski crystal colour chart here (showing both Names and Numbers):
https://eurekacrystalbeads.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/2013colorchart.jpg
Thank you for that link — I realize this is an old post and comment, but I’m new to Swarovski and it’s bewildering!
Hola gracias por compartirnos eso, estoy iniciando mi tienda de accesorios hechos a manos, necesito comprar mostacillas ya sea miyuki o toho para mis creaciones, dime por favor una tienda online donde la puedo comprar a buenos precios, de ante manos Graciiias! 🙂
Dear Lisbeth, I have no idea what you said exactly but I thank you for dropping by and for leaving a message <3 😀
Basically she said thanks for sharing this post. She is planning to start handmade accessories for her store and would like to know where to buy Miyuki and Toho beads for a good price online. Might be a bit late, I only just found your blog. I hope this will be of some help to someone else though!
Dear Samantha, thank you for the translation. That was very helpful!
Basically, if one runs a business (and had an ABN, as in Australia or has some business license) one can buy wholesale from BeadSmith.com or CzechBeads.com).
Otherwise, do a Google search as there are many people selling various seedbeads all over the place, in each country. One can also try Ebay and Etsy.
Hope that helps. Thanks again Samantha.