Understanding Bead Sizes: Miyuki 11/0 Round Rocailles and Best Starter Colors

When you are jumping into making 3D beaded companions, you quickly realize how much the exact shape and size of your beads matter. If your beads are even slightly off-size, your circular peyote rows won't align, your tension will wrap, and your finished "pocketsized friend" might come out looking distorted.

My patterns are designed and tested exclusively using Miyuki Rocailles (round seed beads) in size 11/0. Here is everything you need to know about how beading sizes work, why you shouldn't mix brands, and some essential starter references to stock up your stash!

How Seed Bead Sizing Works (The "Aught" System)

Seed bead sizes are written with a fraction like 11/0, 8/0, or 15/0 (pronounced "eleven-aught," "eight-aught," etc.).

Historically, this scale was a reference to how many beads could be lined up side-by-side inside a standard unit of measurement. Because of this historical reverse scale, remember this key rule:

The larger the nought size number, the smaller the physical bead.

Bead Size	Approx. Diameter (mm)	Common Use Cases
Size 6/0	~4.0 mm	Thick ropes, chunky embellishments, or beginner kids' crafts.
Size 8/0	~3.0 mm	Medium borders, strap bases, or larger textured details on 3D charms.
Size 11/0	~2.0 mm	The Gold Standard. The universal size for all my 3D animal and plant patterns. Tiny enough for rich detail, but large enough to handle.
Size 15/0	~1.5 mm	Micro-details (like miniature fish fins), tiny embroidery layers, or ultra-delicate frames.

Rocailles vs. Delicas: Match the Right Shape

Even if you buy size 11/0 beads, they come in completely different physical shapes from the factory. Miyuki makes two primary types of size 11/0 beads, and they are NOT interchangeable:

Miyuki Rocailles (Round Seed Beads): These are classic doughnut-shaped, rounded seed beads. They have smooth, curved edges that sit warmly against each other, allowing the structural curved slopes of my 3D patterns to form naturally. This is what you should always buy for my patterns.
Miyuki Delicas (Cylinder Beads): These are perfectly uniform, razor-sharp cylindrical tube beads. When woven together, they lock tightly like flat bricks. While they are stunning for flat, geometric pixel illustrations, they are too rigid for 3D rounded shapes and will make your animal companions look boxy or cause structural decreases to warp.

Can I Use Other Brands Like Toho?

While Japanese Toho beads are excellent high-quality beads with gorgeous colors, there is a massive catch:

DO NOT mix glass brands inside the same beading row.

Even though they are both labeled as size 11/0, Miyuki round rocailles are slightly thinner (~2.0mm) whereas Toho round rocailles are historically slightly rounder and thicker (~2.2mm).

If you attempt to mix them:

Ruined Tension: The minute diameter and height differences will cause your stitches to buckle, creating a wonky, uneven surface.
Core Misalignment: Because of the size discrepancy, Toho beads will not fit correctly over my specified inner core beads or spun cotton ball support dimensions (except on the flat fish or the flat crab, where the outer shapes don't wrap around a core).

If you choose to use an alternative brand than Miyuki 11/0 rounds, you will have to experiment independently to adjust your tension and find alternative custom sizes for the inner support structures.

A Quick Guide to Miyuki Reference Numbers

Every Miyuki bead has a reference number that uniquely identifies its color and finish. When you look at one of my patterns, you'll see entries like "#139 — dark orange". That is the manufacturer's official color reference.

How to read a Miyuki reference:

The Color Number: The main digits (e.g., 139) identify the unique color shade and coating of the glass.
The Size: The size is separate. I almost always use size 11/0.
The Shape: The shape is also separate. Ensure you buy round rocailles, not Delica cylinders!

Beware: Sourcing references are unnecessarily hard!

Frustratingly, many online retail craft stores make it unnecessarily hard to search for Miyuki reference numbers because they apply their own custom prefixes and codes to their catalogs.

To avoid getting stuck, keep these prefix hacks handy when looking for colors at different shops:

On Perles & Co: They apply a specific suffix/prefix logic. To find my dark green 146, you will often need to search for MR11/146 (where MR11 stands for Miyuki Rocaille 11/0) or MR11-146, instead of simply searching "146".
On Pandahall: They use their own search index. To find Miyuki round rocailles, you will need to type rr146 (meaning ROCAILLES round 146) or search for "Miyuki 11/0 round" followed by the color code to bypass their standard listings.

Most-Used Refs Across My Patterns

These are the ultimate workhorses you'll reach for over and over. If you are starting out, bookmark this list! These ten references make a solid starter set:

Miyuki Ref	Color Description	What I Use It For
#401	Opaque Black	Outlines, eyes, and pupil definition in almost every single pattern.
#528	Opaque White	Contrast, highlights, bellies, and eye whites.
#131f	Frosted Crystal White / Transparent Frosted	The absolute, gorgeous base color for the Beaded Ghost and Ghost Earrings!
#139	Dark Orange	Accents, detailing, and especially the mallard version of the Lazy Duck!
#136	Opaque Yellow	The primary body for the Bumblebee, Rainbow Fish, and Blue Tang cores.
#140	Opaque Red	The body of the Fire Spirit, detailing, and the Straw Hat band.
#143	Light Green	The base body of the Beaded Frog and several fish add-on supplements.
#146	Dark Green	Foliage, Frog back shading, and Yellow Perch accents.
#265	Light Pink (Luster)	Delicate rose detailing, and the soft pink sections of the Confetti Fish.
#1308	Vibrant Pink	Bold details, Confetti Fish highlights, Flower Fish, and the Lovely Fish.

Where to Buy Your Beads

I buy almost all of my standard and rare color codes from Perles & Co in Europe. They have a massive inventory, ship incredibly fast, and are extremely reliable.

If you're hunting for specialized shades or building your inventory outside of Europe, Pandahall.com is another great option for bulk orders, or you can search for local independent bead shops online using the exact term: Miyuki 11/0 round rocailles.

You can find my complete, easy-to-use shared cart containing the exact colors and starter quantities I use on our website's resource page: mindofjulia.com/supplies