Use the chart below to determine how many of a certain size bead it takes to cover one inch of a beaded strand. This can help you plan out a bead stringing design, or calculate how many beads you'll receive when you purchase beads by the strand.
To estimate how many beads make up a strand of a certain length, multiply the beads-per-inch (from the right-hand column, below) by the length of the strand in inches. Here's an example.
- Question: How many 6mm beads are in a 16-inch strand?
- Calculation: 4.2 (beads per inch) x 16 (strand inches) = 67.2 beads
- Answer: About 67 beads.
Tip: To estimate the number of beads per inch for a bead size not shown below, simply divide 25.4 by the length of your beads in millimeters. (There are 25.4 millimeters in one inch.)
Beads Per Inch
| Bead Size (Length) | Approximate Number of Beads Per Inch |
| 2mm | 12.7 |
| 3mm | 8.5 |
| 4mm | 6.4 |
| 5mm | 5.1 |
| 6mm | 4.2 |
| 7mm | 3.6 |
| 8mm | 3.2 |
| 9mm | 2.8 |
| 10mm | 2.5 |
| 11mm | 2.3 |
| 12mm | 2.1 |
| 13mm | 2 |
| 14mm | 1.8 |
| 15mm | 1.7 |
| 16mm | 1.4 |