The seed bead aisle is the most confusing wall in the shop: the sizes run counter-intuitively (a 15/0 is smaller than a 6/0), the brands sit in families that behave differently, and the tube weights don't tell you what you actually need. The shopping-list builder and the app carry the numbers (the sizes post, the gram table); this is the choosing logic behind them.
| aught | about | use |
|---|---|---|
| 6/0 | 4.0 mm | chunky strands, kandi bracelets, spacers and edge beads on loom work |
| 8/0 | 3.0 mm | the friendly size for first peyote and loom — the bead sits big enough to see the structure |
| 11/0 | 2.1 mm | the workhorse — most charts, most pattern programs, most published patterns |
| 15/0 | 1.5 mm | fine detail, tight curves, heirloom density |
Miyuki's round rocailles (the 110/g family) sit on the tube and read slightly domed from the front — the classic look for peyote and loom. Delica cylinders (the 200/g family) carry straight walls, which means the beads tile flush in a chart and the colour reads flat across the fabric. The two families carry the same chart the same way, but the shopping list differs: an 11/0 chart takes 110/g round or 200/g cylinder, so the tube count depends on the family you pick.
A 1,200-bead chart color: 1,200 ÷ 200 = 6.0 g, plus the builder's 10% cushion = 6.6 g — a single 7.2 g tube. Delica 11/0. Switch to Miyuki round: 1,200 ÷ 110 = 10.9 g — two 8.5 g tubes. Same chart, two different tube counts. The shopping-list builder runs this math live from the chart's actual counts and lets you print the list as-is.
Pick the family you like the look of, run the numbers, and print the list. String something this week. — the bench crew