Delica color guide
Three rules that keep Delica beadwork readable—then try your own codes in the free tool below.
In bead weaving, the biggest readable difference is often lightness, not hue. Pair a light, a mid, and a dark so shapes stay clear at a few millimeters. If everything sits in the same value range, even “pretty” hues can blur together. Save hue experiments for accents once the structure reads well.
Miyuki Delica beads come in shiny, satin, and matte (and lined variants). Shiny and lined beads throw highlights; matte beads steady the design. Too much shine in one zone can look noisy; too much matte without contrast can look flat. A common working set: matte or satin grounds + one shiny or lined accent.
Before buying new colors, list what is already on your desk. Enter at least 15 DB codes you own (any format—we normalize them). You will see which families you lean on and where gaps are. Buying one bridging color (a neutral or mid-tone in an underused family) often unlocks more palettes than buying another shade you already have three of.
Free tool
Paste your Delica DB codes below (or leave empty to explore popular colors). You will get a few harmonious palettes with real codes and proportions you can copy into your project.
Any format works. We'll normalize them automatically. Leave empty to generate from all available colors.
Free to use. No account required. Leave empty to generate from popular Delica colors.
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Questions
Many weavers begin with 15–30 core colors across lights, mids, and darks, plus a few accents. You can grow the stash as projects demand; testing with what you have first avoids duplicate purchases.
Screens are a rough guide only. Delica finishes change how color reads in person. Prefer real bead samples or our DB-coded palettes when possible.
Increase value contrast, limit competing hues in the same lightness, and separate similar finishes. When in doubt, add a lighter highlight or a darker outline bead.
Yes. Tools work best when you feed them real codes from your stash so suggestions stay practical. Start with a shortlist, review proportions, and adjust before weaving.