Seed beads are tiny, drawn-glass beads frequently used in jewelry making and clothing embellishment. Seed beads are predominantly made in Japan and the Czech Republic. The basic process of seed bead production includes cane making, cane chopping, and heat polishing - this process has remained virtually unchanged since the 15th century.

Making the Cane:
Seed bead production begins with the creation of very long, slender glass rods. An enormous furnace melts a mass of glass all at once. As the molten stream of glass leaves the furnace, compressed air is blown into it, creating a hole in the cane. Across the factory, a wheel grips the narrow cane of molten glass and pulls it from the furnace. To insure accuracy of size, lasers measure the diameter of the tube. If the diameter of the glass rod is too large, the wheel speeds up slightly, stretching the tube to the proper size; if the diameter of the glass rod is too small, the wheel slows down a bit, condensing the cane so that the diameter increases.

Chopping the Cane:
The glass cane is cut into yard-long lengths right after it passes through the wheel. After being tied into bunches by hand, the canes are taken to the cutting machine. A worker lays the canes out on a vibrating platform, which slides the rods down onto a metal stop which is set to determine the chopping size. Seed beads use a short setting, while bugle beads require a longer setting. The blade chops the ends of the canes into bead-sized pieces, which fall into a metal bin. The short chopped pieces that will become seed beads are sent to heat processing to be rounded out and smoothed. The longer pieces that will become bugle beads are not processed any further, which explains why they often have rough or irregular edges.

Heat Processing:
In order to achieve the classic, rounded shape, the chopped beads are mixed with a clay-like compound to coat their surfaces and plug their holes. The whole mixture is heated in a kiln, which rotates to keep the shape of each bead uniform and to keep the beads from sticking to each other. Careful timing is critical to prevent the holes from closing. When the seed beads have been heated and tumbled enough to obtain their proper shape, they are placed in an acid bath to remove the chalky compound from the holes and to make the surface shiny again. The seed beads are then washed and dried in massive centrifugal machines. Finally, the seed beads are sorted by size, run through quality-control machines, and either strung onto hanks or bagged loose.

More Seed Bead Information:
- Seed Bead Types
- Seed Bead Sizes
- Size Conversion Charts

Content Provided by: "Guarded Treasures: An inside look at contemporary Czech seed bead production." by Virginia Blakelock, pp.188-121. Bead and Button, June 2004. Kalmbach Publishing Co.