Shisha Mirrors
Specializing in Brazilian Embroidery
but providing stitchers with much more!Shisha
Mirror Embroidery - An integral part of the folk embroidery of Russia &
Central Asia for centuries, Shisha is believed to originate from the Jats of Banni on the Indian subcontinent.
The wealthy classes wore clothing and made furnishings embroidered with precious metal threads &
jewels. Camel girths & animal decoration was & is embroidered using
colored silks, metal threads, sadi & much shisha. Less prosperous people used cheaper
decorations, e.g. mica and beetles wings, to give clothing and furnishings a rich look.
During the 1500's, shisha replaced mica and appeared in the beautiful Stumpwork
of Tudor & Stuart England. Shisha work is an exciting part of the great embroidery
tradition & is used in many exciting designs
and applications, both classical and innovative.
About Shisha
Shisha is available in large & small
diamond shapes, and large & small circles. There are no holes drilled in shisha, so
to attach the mirrors, they should be sewn onto fabric, that is, held in place by a
framework of stitches. Shisha is a charming and inexpensive way to add
interest & beauty to many crafts. |
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How To Use Shisha Glass
Materials
Fabric: A strong, firm fabric of reasonable weight, or a lighter
fabric that has been backed, e.g. with a medium weight linen or pre-shrunk calico.
Needle: Chenille No. 7, or crewel needle (dependent on choice of fabric & thread
Honing Stone: Hone or lightly sand the shisha edges to ensure they are smooth before
stitching.
Frame: Essential to have your fabric in a frame or hoop for
shisha and metal thread embroidery.
Threads: Rajmahal Art Silks, Cords, Sadi & Metallics can all be
used in shisha work to wonderful effect.
 
Most stitches can be based on a shisha frame.
The tension of your frame stitches is important as the frame will be pulled out
towards the edge of the mirror by the decorative stitches. Firm tension allows less
mirror to be displayed, less tension shows more mirror.
To decorate, bring thread to the right side and use the frame as a base to attach e.g.
buttonhole, twisted chain, French Knots, Cretan stitch, fly stitch......the only limit is your
imagination.
There are lots of variations on frame techniques too, like using Rajcord to attach the
shisha which can then be woven in a cord spiders web, or attach using metallics, or
threaded sadi thread.
 Always smooth shisha with
honing stone or sandpaper
Tic Tac Toe Application
Place shisha on fabric. (Use a piece of double-sided tape if needs be-
after you have stitched on a few shishas you won't need this!) Secure art silk or metal thread & bring needle
through from the back of fabric. Stitch a parallel stitch from 12 o'clock (A) to 6
o'clock (B) so that thread lies across the shisha, then take another parallel stitch right
next to A, across the top of the shisha & down close to B. Take a small back stitch behind shisha to
secure thread firmly, then stitch 2 horizontal stitches (9 o'clock to 3 o'clock) in the same
fashion. It is important that the horizontal stitches go over and under the
vertical stitches on the top of the shisha. The shisha will then be secure, and the inside
square of the frame will provide the base from which you can work decorative stitches |
