Smaller Beaded Beads

Having learnt the secret of making beaded beads, I started experimenting to make smaller ones. I used a pattern in the amigurumi book, but felt that the ball was too squat. My thread was too thick too, so it showed too much. I added two rows and used size 40 thread. Better:

The stitch count, for the record, is 6-12-12-18-18-18-12-12-6. For a beginner, it's easier to keep track if the rows are of different colours, so I'm sticking to that for now.

I stuffed these beads with the same stuffing I use for amigurumi toys, but I wondered if a felted ball would work better. I got some wool roving out and made some felt balls. The first batch were a bit big:

Back to the hot water and soap for a smaller batch and I think it worked fine:

I've done a couple more: