Bead Sizing in mm and Why

What size of Bead do I need?

Yikes!!  Bead sizes are impossible, right?  Like who uses Metric sizing in everyday life?  Umm, beaders, let's put our big girl pants on and learn!!  Are we ready to dive into learning what a mm is?

Size -- the sizing of beads is tricky for those of us in the U.S because beads are sized according to the metric system and we learned to size things in inches.

Did you know that 25.4 mm is an inch?

Let's break this down, shall we?  If 25.4 mm is an inch, well, let's make it even easier, 25 mm is an inch, as .4 mm is REALLY small, added up over huge distances, noticeable, but I don't see anyone using large Beads, like a foot wide or something!

25 mm is like having $0.25 right?  Can you make change, do simple math, so 1/2 an inch is about 12.5 mm, Oh.  Is that making it a bit easier?  1 inch = 25 mm

1/4 inch, is just divided by 2 again, 6.25 mm.

Why does the Bead Industry Measure Beads this way?

These are sized this way, due to the measuring devices used in the industry, mm is easier to understand for most than decimal system.  Like what is .125 inches?  My Engineer brain knows that it's 1/8" however, what is .128", mind-blowing, lol.   Do you see my point?  Decimals can go to infinity as well, making it that much harder.  Hence, mm.

And it's not just beads sized this way. Many of the findings you use when beading are sized in millimeters like wire and jump rings. Do a search for a size chart if need be, it really isn't as hard as people make it out to be.  Hence, my tiny lesson.

Have fun beading!!  Wait, I want to make an 8" bracelet, how many millimeters is that?

25 mm = 1 inch
25mm x 8 = 8 inches

That makes sense, right?

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