GetCrafty Craft Facts

Q: I'm thinking of ordering some Delicas from General Bead for the Basket Bag project in 'Beaded Amulet Purses'. But, I don't have any idea how many beads would be in the standard 10 gram retail package - I'm used to ordering beads in the 6" x 1/2" tubes. Anyone have an idea of an approximate number or how many packages of each color I might need for this project?

A: I've had similar conversations the last two afternoons with a couple of my customers. One had just called General about their samples and they told her that the Delicas they were offering were running to about 500 beads per sample, which in weight is somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 grams. As such, those 10 gram tubes should hold in the area of 1250 beads. I don't really know how that translates into a stitched piece, though. Since Delicas are roughly similar to 11/0 seeds, I suppose you could measure the bag and then multiply by 11, but this would be rough at best. I trust I've obscured the subject satisfactorily. I really wish someone would do something so that we could more easily quantify Delicas and the resulting products when they're used with various stitches. You'd be surprised at how many folks ask how many beads per tube or in a hank. Usually I stare blankly and say, "Um...I have no idea." But at least now that I know 4 grams is about 500 beads, I have some idea of what to tell them. There are about 187 beads per sq. inch, and about 4000 per ounce. Now how many grams in an ounce? NocBay Trading Post catalog, has a wonderful conversion chart. Send for that catalog.