Thread: Seed VS Bugle?

Ok so the costume Im looking to make is Great Loops inspired. What is the general consensus for making swag fringe? Fringe seed like this Fringe bead, glass, clear rainbow. Sold per pkg of 10 grams. - Fire Mountain Gems and Beads or bugle?

I went back 55 pages so as to not post yet another duplicate question, and at one point somebody mentioned these hex cuts Seed bead, Delica®, glass, black, (Miyuki #652), #11 hex 2-cut. Sold per pkg of 50 grams. - Fire Mountain Gems and Beads I think?

Btw, I guess using a bead spinner with a bugle bead isnt possible?

Seed Seed Seed Seed Seed NEVER bugle. Trust me. Especially on swag fringe. Bugle has sharp edges and will cut your thread over time.

Bugles will give you the lovely sheen you want, but they're not the most practical longwearing choice as they tend to cut through thread and you don't really want to stand on one. Ordinary round glass seed beads are practical and don't ever have jagged edges.

The hex cut you describe sounds like an Eygptian seed bead, and they're lovely.

Some benefits of bugle beads:

• It takes less time to string a length of fringe because of the length of the bead.
• It's possible to purchase some cool twisted styles.
• You can get them in metallic colors such as gold and silver more easily than you can get metallic-look seed beads.

Some disadvantages of bugle beads (as compared to seed beads) are:

• The colored outer layer wears off with handling, especially if you get any sweat on it. Handling the beads with your fingers while stringing them will cause some of the colored outer layer to wear off.
• Bugle beads have sharp edges on the ends, which cut through your thread. So fringe created using bugle beads is more likely to break while you're dancing than fringe created using seed beads. People who like bugle beads often mitigate this by placing a seed bead to serve as a hinge in between each pair of bugle beads on the fringe.
• Bugle beads generally don't come in as wide a variety of colors as seed beads do.

A couple of other types of beads to consider:

Rocaille beads. They resemble seed beads, and are about the same size as seed beads, except they have silver linings that make them sparkle a bit more than seed beads.

E-beads. Also sometimes called large rocaille beads. Much larger, easier to deal with because of larger holes and stringing a piece of fringe goes faster with them.

Two-cut beads. Their size/shape is sort of like short bugle beads, but they don't seem to cut through the thread as badly.


All of my Turkish-made bra/belt sets were made using seed beads. All of my Egyptian-made bra/belt sets were made using two-cut beads.

The seed beads and rocaille beads give the costume a more delicate look than what you'd get with the other bead styles I described above.

I hope this helps!

Seeds please! (Or Shira's suggestion of Rocaille or e-beads) As has been said, bugles are prone to cutting thread... and they are also more likely to break and lose pieces of themselves... which will wind up in your and/or another dancer's feet.

One more thought....

Certain colors of seed beads (royal purple and fuschia) tend to have the dye come off the bead and onto your skin, so the longevity of costumes made with them might not be as good as that of costumes made in other colors. If you talk to your bead seller, you might want to ask whether the color you've chosen will hold up well with frequent exposure to your skin, or whether you'd be better off choosing a different color.

Thanks for the two cut bead rec. I had never heard of them and they are really pretty. Anyone ever used them on a costume?

Originally Posted by goodintentions82

Btw, I guess using a bead spinner with a bugle bead isnt possible?

You can, but with a straight needle. I find that the curved needle that comes with the bead spinner tends to bugger up with bugles.