Miyuki vs Toho vs Preciosa: Choosing the Right Seed Bead
The three most commonly used seed bead brands in pattern work each have distinct characteristics. Choosing the wrong one doesn't ruin a project, but it does affect how your chart translates to finished fabric — and how easy it is to buy replacements when you run short.
Why brand matters for pattern work
When you follow a bead pattern, each bead in the chart represents one physical bead. If the physical beads vary in size — even by a fraction of a millimeter — your rows won't lay flat. You'll get buckling, irregular spacing, and a finished piece that doesn't match the chart proportions.
The three brands handle this consistency problem differently, and the differences matter most at larger pattern sizes. A 20×20 earring chart is forgiving. A 120×80 wall piece with 3 mm bead variance across 9,600 positions is not.
Miyuki Delica
Miyuki Delica beads are cylinder beads — precisely cylindrical, with thin walls and a wide hole. They're the industry standard for flat peyote and loom work because their shape produces an extremely flat, even fabric with almost no visible gaps between beads.
Size consistency across the Miyuki Delica catalog is the best of any bead on the market. The DB (Delica) numbering system covers over 1,500 colors including a vast range of finishes: opaque, transparent, metallic, AB (aurora borealis), matte, galvanized, and color-lined. This is why most published patterns are written for Miyuki Delica — the predictability makes substitution tables reliable.
Best for: Large flat patterns, photorealistic portraits, any project where chart accuracy is critical. Drawbacks: Expensive; wide-hole cylinders can look too uniform for some textures; galvanized finishes can wear over time.
Toho
Toho makes both round seed beads and cylinder beads (Toho Treasures and Toho Aikos). Their round seed beads come in an extensive size range — from size 15° (very tiny) to size 6° — and are widely available globally at lower prices than Miyuki.
Toho's size consistency is good but not quite at Miyuki Delica level. For most projects this difference is imperceptible. Toho beads also tend to have slightly more color variation within a tube (individual beads from the same lot can vary in shade), which is rarely a problem but worth noting for high-precision work.
Toho's color catalog includes many unique colors not available in Miyuki, particularly in transparent and lined finishes. Experienced beaders often use Miyuki for the main pattern and pull specific accent colors from Toho when the exact shade they need doesn't exist in the Miyuki range.
Best for: General pattern work, projects on a budget, finding specific colors not in the Miyuki catalog. Drawbacks: Round beads produce slightly less flat fabric than cylinders; size consistency behind Miyuki Delica.
Preciosa
Preciosa is a Czech glass manufacturer with the widest color range of the three — their seed bead catalog runs to thousands of colors and finishes, many of which have no equivalent in Miyuki or Toho. Their ORNELA line is the most relevant for pattern work.
Preciosa beads are round seed beads, not cylinders. Size consistency is the most variable of the three brands — notably so at size 11° (the most common pattern size). Beads from different lots can differ visibly, and even within a single lot there's more size variance than Miyuki or Toho.
This doesn't mean Preciosa beads are low quality — they have excellent glass clarity and color depth, and many colors are genuinely unavailable elsewhere. But for large flat pattern work, the size variance produces uneven rows that need to be compensated for. Most experienced beaders use Preciosa for embroidery, free-form work, or as accent beads in a primarily Miyuki pattern.
Best for: Color-specific projects needing shades unavailable from Japanese manufacturers, embroidery, free-form work. Drawbacks: Size inconsistency makes large flat patterns difficult; lot matching more important than with other brands.
What size bead do you need?
All three brands sell beads in standard sizes, with the number indicating relative size — larger number means smaller bead. The most common sizes for pattern work:
- Size 11° (approx. 2.2 mm): The universal standard. Almost all patterns are written for size 11°. This is your default.
- Size 15° (approx. 1.5 mm): For very fine detail work or tiny pieces. Harder to work with; requires thinner thread and needle.
- Size 8° (approx. 3 mm): For quick large-scale work or children's projects. Far less color selection available.
- Miyuki Delica DB (approx. 1.6 mm × 1.3 mm): Cylinder shape, not directly comparable to round sizes. The standard for peyote and loom work.
Which brand should you start with?
For your first bead pattern: Miyuki Delica. The consistency makes counting and finishing easier, and the wide color range means you can usually source every color in a published pattern from a single supplier. The higher price per bead is offset by less waste — fewer misshapen beads to discard.
Once you're comfortable with the craft: expand to Toho for colors you can't find in Miyuki, and pull specific Preciosa colors for one-of-a-kind finishes. Most working beaders maintain stock from all three brands and choose per-project based on what the colors demand.
When you match a photo in Beadify, you can switch between Miyuki, Toho, and Preciosa catalogs and see how the matched colors differ between brands before committing to a purchase list.
See exactly which Miyuki, Toho, or Preciosa beads match your photo — with bead counts for every color in the pattern.
Try Beadify free →