NVBeads

Measuring in MMs

Measuring in MMs is very simple. You do not need a milimeter gauge to measure in MMs. Many people do not realized that MMs can be found on nearly all standard rulers and tape measures opposite the inches.  When you want to measure in MMs just flip it over and use the MM/CM side instead of inches! Each tiny line is 1MM and 10MMs is the 1CM mark usually numbered with just a 1.

Converting Inches to MMs

To convert MMs to inches I prefer the flexible sewing tape measures because they are exactly lined up on opposite sides so you can hold it or pinch it at 9 inches and flip it over to see that it is 23CMs or 230MMs.  Please note: only pinch the soft flexible sewing tape measures as the kink will not come out of the metal ones. On most other tape measures both the MMs and the Inches are on the front so they are great for quick conversions. On regular stick rulers the inches and mms are sometimes upside down & backwards from each other so they are a little harder to use for conversions.

Calculating How Many Beads Per Inch

There are several ways to calculate how many beads you need for your project.  My personal favorite is to cheat using the handy Google calculator.  To use to Google calculator simply enter the desired conversion into any Google search box "?? inches to mm" or reversed "?? mm to inches" and it will automatically calculate it for you. For example, entering the search term "18 inches to mm" will give you a result that says "18 inches = 457.2 millimeters".  Then to calculate how many beads you need, take the result 457.2 and divide it by the mm size of the beads you plan to use.  If you are going to use all 6mm beads it would be 457.2/6= 76.2 beads.  To reverse that and figure out how many inches a certain bag of beads will string just multiply the # of beads x the mm size: 100pcs*4mm= 400mm. Then enter "400mm to inches in Google.  the result should say "400 millimeters = 15.7480315 inches".

Other ways to calculate the # of beads would be to use the rulers or tape measures as listed above or memorize the most common sizes from the chart below.

Wire Gauges

The thickness of all items made from wires such as headpins, eyepins, earring hooks, silver wire, stringing wire etc. are measured in wire gauge.  The gauge of the wire is determined by its diameter. If you do not know the diameter of your wire you can measure it with any digital gauge that measures in 0.00 inches or 0.00 MMs. Below is the conversion chart.  Knowing the gauge of your wire will help you determine if the wire will pass through the holes on your beads.  the higher the gauge number the thinner the wire!