I think the round base was the older design and they changed the spinners without changing the picture on the box. You may, like I did, buy a listing that shows a round base and get one that has a hex base, just so you know. Some pictures show them with a round base, and some show them with a hex-shaped base. Unlike the itty bitty micro spinner, these are made of wood. The one I purchased was sold under the Beadalon name. However, I’m about 90% convinced that it is the same spinner that they buy from the same manufacturer and slap their own name on it. There are two brands that offer these mini spinners, Beadsmith’s Mini Spin-and-String and Beadalon Spin-n-Bead Jr. Because bead spinners work best when they are more full, a small sized spinner is ideal if you work with small sized beads or small amounts of beads. Mini spinners are smaller than the standard sized bead spinner (which is discussed below) and therefore holds less beads. It does work, though, if you’re careful… It’s not the greatest spinner, but it will do in a pinch. I kept it mostly as a novelty. It also doesn’t hold many beads, because it is tiny, but if you’re just working on a small project that probably doesn’t matter much. The opening of the bowl is small too, so it’s harder to get wire into the bowl without bumping into the edges and slowing it down even further. I feel like the whole design would be better if only the nub were longer (and the hole in the middle of the bowl shaft longer to fit the longer shaft, of course). Firstly, the “nub” in the base that holds the spinner on is really short, and if you don’t spin slowly and carefully the bowl wobbles and stops. Lots of cons though, so it doesn’t get a solid recommendation from me. I can’t find many pros for this one unfortunately. It is plastic and really cheap, so I figured I might as well give it a whirl. I found mine on Amazon, though I’m sure it could be found elsewhere. But, if a lot of my beads were more organic (read – funky-shaped holes), I’d go to the Superfloss method.First up is the Micro Spin-and-String (by Beadsmith). Given all the pros and cons, I still prefer using a crochet hook to add beads. My personal preferred method of knitting with beads This will give you the chance to familiarize yourself and get comfortable with handling the Superfloss. Otherwise, you’ll need to plan your loading very carefully.Īs always, I suggest trying this first on a small swatch. If you want a particular bead at a particular place, it’s probably easier to load 2 separate Superflosses.It can be more of a challenge to turn the floss in order add the bead to your knitting.You do need to take time at the beginning of your beading to load up the Superfloss.You don’t need to worry about the size of the tool you have and if it will fit the hole in the bead.It works with the sometimes-imperfect nature of holes in beads.Given #1 above, it’s a good method for traveling.It doesn’t just need to be done that one time. You can add more beads to the Superfloss at any time.You can load a ton of beads onto the Superfloss all at once.Pros and Cons Pros of Beading with Superfloss