What Are Heishi Beads?

Heishi beads are thin, flat disc or short tube beads with a center hole, cut so evenly that when you string them close together they form a smooth, continuous rope rather than a row of separate beads. The word comes from the Keres language of Santo Domingo Pueblo (Kewa) in New Mexico, where it means shell beads, and Pueblo artists still make fine heishi by hand from shell and turquoise. In the bead trade today the name also covers thin gemstone, glass and metal discs, from 2x4 mm stone spacers to 12 mm triangles. Here is where heishi comes from, how it differs from rondelles and disks, and how to use it.

Our heishi beads include smooth and faceted gemstone heishi, shaped triangles and squares, and glass, metal and coconut shell heishi.

What Makes a Bead Heishi?

Heishi have flat, parallel faces and straight or gently rounded sides, and they are thin for their width. Sizes are often written as 2 numbers, such as 2x4 mm or 3x6 mm: the smaller is the thickness and the larger the diameter. Diameters of 2 mm to 8 mm are typical, though shaped heishi run larger. Strung tight, the flat faces sit against each other with almost no gap, so the strand reads as a single smooth column that bends like fine chain.

The name is also spelled heishe, and it is said "HEE-shee."

Where the Word Heishi Comes From

Heishi is a Keres word for shell beads. Keres is spoken at Santo Domingo Pueblo, also called Kewa, and at several other Pueblos in New Mexico. Santo Domingo artists, along with their neighbors at San Felipe Pueblo, are especially known for heishi, and shell beads have been made in the Southwest for many centuries.

Traditional Pueblo Heishi

Traditional heishi is made from shell, such as clam, spiny oyster and mother of pearl, and from stones such as turquoise. The maker cuts the material into thin slabs, breaks them into small squares and drills each one, historically with a hand-powered drill. The rough squares are strung tightly on wire, and the whole strand is ground against a stone or grinding wheel until every bead is round and the same diameter, then sanded and polished. The finest hand-made heishi is so thin and even that a strand drapes like fine chain.

Hand-made Pueblo heishi is the work of individual Native artists and is sold directly by those artists and through galleries and trading posts. Under the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act, a product may be marketed as Native American or Indian made only when it was made by a member of a federally or state recognized tribe, or by an Indian artisan certified by a tribe. The heishi we sell are bead supplies of gemstone, glass, metal and coconut shell; they are not Native American made, and we do not describe them that way.

Gemstone Heishi Today

Most gemstone heishi sold for beading is cut, drilled and polished with modern lapidary equipment, which keeps the discs even from strand to strand. It comes in 3 main styles.

Smooth Heishi

Plain polished discs, most often 2x4 mm to 4x7 mm. We carry smooth heishi in dalmatian jasper, snowflake sodalite and phlogopite mica at 2x4 mm, tiger's eye and a moonstone mix at 3x6 mm, and clear quartz, petrified wood, malachite, lapis lazuli and matte lava in 5 mm to 8 mm sizes. Guatemalan jade also comes as short 5.5 mm heishi tubes.

Faceted Heishi

Thin discs with faceted edges, sometimes sold as heishi rondelles, that sparkle along the edge as the strand moves. Ours include labradorite, peridot, blue kyanite, beryl, rainbow moonstone and watermelon tourmaline from 3 mm to 7 mm, plus a graduated tanzanite strand. These are drilled fine; most of their listings give holes of 0.3 to 0.4 mm.

Shaped Heishi

Flat triangles, squares and tiles cut with the same thin profile. We carry Canadian green jade in triangles and square tiles and chevron amethyst triangles, all 10 mm to 12 mm.

Heishi is not only stone. Our collection also has matte Roman glass, Thousand Eye Krobo glass from Ghana, rough-cut coconut shell, and tiny Ethiopian copper and white metal heishi, handmade in Ethiopia, that work as fine metal spacers.

Heishi vs Rondelle vs Disk Beads

Heishi are thin with flat faces, so they stack into a smooth tube with almost no gaps.

Rondelles are like a round bead pressed flat: the edges are domed and rounded, and they are thicker for their width, so a strand shows a soft scalloped line rather than a smooth tube.

Disk beads are flat like heishi but wider for their thickness, such as 2x6 mm and up, so they read as a stack of thin coins.

The names overlap, and suppliers, us included, use them loosely: a thin faceted rondelle may be listed as heishi, and our 6 mm tiger's eye heishi disk sits in both collections. When it matters, go by the dimensions in the listing.

Heishi Styles and Uses

How to Use Heishi in Your Designs

As spacers. A single heishi or a pair between larger round beads adds a thin line of color and a little space between the rounds. Metal heishi do the same job as metal spacer beads with a more handmade look.

In stacked bracelets. A 7 inch stretch bracelet uses about half of a 15 inch strand, so 1 strand of 2x4 mm or 3x6 mm heishi makes 2 slim bracelets. Wear them with 6 mm and 8 mm round bead bracelets; the flat heishi sits neatly between them and keeps a stack from looking bulky.

As a solid strand. String heishi on its own for a smooth rope necklace, or block 2 or 3 stones in sections for a color-block look. Leave a little ease in the strand so it can curve; heishi strung too tight on wire makes a stiff necklace.

With focal beads. A plain heishi rope makes a quiet background for a pendant, a carved bead or a large nugget.

What Cord to Use for Heishi

Heishi holes are small. Most of our faceted heishi list holes of 0.3 to 0.4 mm, and many smooth stone heishi are drilled small as well, so check the hole size in the listing and test the cord through a few beads before you cut it.

• Elastic: if 0.5 mm elastic cord passes through, it makes a slim stretch bracelet; seal the knot with G-S Hypo Cement.
• Beading wire: .010 to .015 inch (0.25 to 0.38 mm) stringing wire for fine-hole and faceted heishi; 49 strand gives the smoothest curve.
• Silk: fine silk cord in size 0 or 1 for the smallest holes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does heishi mean?

It is a Keres word for shell beads, from Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo in New Mexico. Bead sellers now use it for any thin, flat disc bead that strings into a smooth tube.

How do you pronounce heishi?

HEE-shee. It is also spelled heishe.

What is the difference between heishi and rondelle beads?

Heishi have flat faces and stack into a smooth tube. Rondelles have rounded, domed edges and are thicker for their width, so a strand of rondelles looks scalloped.

Are heishi beads Native American?

Traditional hand-made heishi is a Pueblo art form, and only work made by Native artists can be sold as Native American made. Gemstone heishi sold as bead supplies, including ours, are not Native American made.

What size are heishi beads?

Most are 2 mm to 8 mm across and 1 mm to 4 mm thick, with 2x4 mm and 3x6 mm the most common spacer sizes. Shaped heishi such as triangles run 10 mm to 12 mm.

What cord do I use for a heishi bracelet?

For a stretch bracelet, 0.5 mm elastic if it fits the holes; otherwise string on .012 or .015 inch beading wire and finish with a clasp.

Shop Heishi Beads

Browse our heishi beads in gemstone, glass, metal and shell, or compare them with rondelle beads and disk beads. For stretch designs, pick up elastic cord and read our guide to elastic cords; for strung necklaces, see how to choose the right stringing wires.