Magatamas are Japanese curved beads which are traditionally carved from semi-precious stones. There is one magatama bead that forms part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Magatamas are often found as part of ancient burial sites as offerings to the gods.

Miyuki makes glass magatama seed beads which come in two sizes. Miyuki magatamas are similar to Miyuki drop beads, but the 4mm magatama beads are about .6mm larger than drops, as well as being wider and broader in shape. Like drop beads, magatamas are good for fringe and embellishment, but they are currently available in a more limited selection of colors.

Miyuki recently introduced a new series of long magatamas and they have been extremely popular. They resemble a dagger or spear-shaped czech glass bead, but the holes in long magatamas are on a slant so that they lean in one direction when strung.

Learn to make this spiral stitch bracelet using long magatamas on our blog.