Understanding Bead Shapes

Understanding Bead Shapes

Not all beads are round. Hard stone can be carved into almost any shape, although many are cut to similar facets as natural crystal gems like diamonds.

These faceted beads need not be round either – they can be made oval, square, rhombus, and a whole range of other forms. Beads of differing shape add interest to the design of a necklace or bracelet.

Getting to know the various shapes will really help you as a beader. As you can see below, there are far more shapes than you may initially have thought. Getting the perfect beads will really improve your jewellery making skills.

Beads are a really versatile material that can be used for so much. You can make everything from bracelets to beaded bags. It’s really satisfying to create your own piece of jewellery and if you give it as a gift to friends and family it is something they can treasure forever.

If you create jewellery, we hope seeing the shapes below will inspire and start you getting creative.

Many shapes are obvious like “heart” or “leaf” – but others, like “briolette” or “rombus” are not so well know. As a beader, you should familiarize yourself to the standard shapes available, so you know what you will be getting without looking at a picture.

Don’t forget beads are three-dimensional: so round or oval can also be flat or puff. Pillow can be rectangle or square, and nugget can be almost any shape not uniform (sometimes called freeform).

Click a picture to see our beads that shape. For round beads, click the type of bead you want, then tick the size filter for the size of round.

Barrels Briolette Button & Coins Chips Cube & Square Frame Nuggets Ovals Pillow & Rectangle Rondelle Tubes Wavy Heishi           Flower Faceted Heart

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