Shisha (the Hindi word for “little glass”) embroidery is also known as mirror-work or abla embroidery. Originally, pieces of mica were used as the mirrors, but later, thin blown-glass pieces were broken and used. Today, small mirrors are commercially available for shisha embroidery. If you use these, make sure to file the edges first so the mirrors aren’t sharp.
I like using paillettes, those large sequins with a tiny hole in the side. They’re extremely lightweight, not sharp at all, and readily available in many colors. They worked perfectly in my “Local pride” apron. I also think it would be really neat to use coins from around the world in shisha embroidery.
I’ve recently gotten really into playing with embroidery, and I decided to at the very least do this one tutorial to share my love of the art form with you all. All you handcrafting/DIY-type folks, get ready!
- Gather your materials. You’ll need fabric, an embroidery hoop, a sharp needle, a shisha mirror (or paillette or coin), and embroidery floss.
- Secure your fabric in the hoop tightly. Thread your needle and knot the end of your floss.
- Place your shisha on the fabric, and secure it with a crossing of foundation stitches.
- Now, duplicate the foundation stitches, but turned 45 degrees… like this.
Until you get this.
- Now, you could leave it at that, and decorate around it. It’s pretty secure and it looks pretty, right? But if you’re more interested in creating a solid frame for your shisha, continue. Poke your needle up through the fabric beside your mirror.
Then, slide your needle under the foundation stitches, from the center toward the edge.
- Pull your needle through and tighten the stitch, then work one backstitch right next to your mirror.
- Now, your next stitches will be like blanket stitches. Again, thread the needle under your foundation stitches from the center to the edge, but make sure your thread is looped UNDER your needle as you pull the stitch tight.
- From now on, when you work the backstitch after your blanket stitch,make sure to initially poke your needle through the previous backstitch. This will create an attractive chain around your shisha.
- Once I get mine shishsa started, I like to take it out of the embroidery hoop. You can if you want to, but you don’t have to. Keep working steps 7 and 8 around the mirror.
This is why I like to take it out of the hoop. It allows me to sort of bend the fabric backward to have more control over my backstitches.
- Keep going until you’re finished!
- Are you proud of yourself? You should be! You could stop there, or you can decorate it some more (back in the embroidery hoop for this). I started with a border of turquoise chain stitches, to match my paillette.
- And then… oh look! The shisha is shining with happiness!
- I finished mine up with some delightful little french knots.
- Enjoy! And join the flickr group to show off your own shisha embroidery.
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and brand new stay at home mom. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate on a budget, and keep a happy home. I breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
thanks for this site and tutorial, i love embleshing and embriodery and shisha just grab my fancy, wanted to learn for so long, atlast now will try it couldn't have done it without you. =) God bless!!!
Thank you! I got the shisha idea from my British magazine and couldn't find the shishas to complete the sampler! Awesome instructions. Thanks for taking your time to do this for us newbies to Hindi embroidery art! You ROCK!
you could try this link to send a message to the site people
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/sendmessage.php
Pls have a look here…your instructions have been copied and pasted word by word
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/embroidery-wo...
Twitter: JoyfulAbode
Thank you for letting me know… how horrible! I can't believe that someone would steal my entire post including my photos and then TAKE THE CREDIT too!!! Everyone is like, “Wow, you're a star! Great tutorial – thank you so much! Beautiful photos!” and that lady is like, “You're so welcome, everyone.”
B*TCH… (yes it makes me angry)
I think I will have to make an account so I can respond there. I am SO upset.
Easy to follow instructions.
thanks very much
some mirorr of this work(gray mirorr) is lead reflective layer
Iam persian conservator haritage & reserch of this mirorr wrok
can you help me
thank you sooooooooooooo much …..i found the right thing i was looking for….im doing the shisha stitch on my cushoin 4 mu JC homeeoconomic exam so i was looking for instruction
…………………again thanks its helping me….
thanks for such a wonderful material . it is really wonderful.u explained it with a neat photograph . thank u for sharing such a needful work with everybody
WoW!!!!!.
Thanks a lot!!!!
Thank you for your clear instructions and photos. This is the best that I have seen yet and feel confident that I can decorate dance clothing with shishas now. Best to you, Beth
Thanks, this was perfectly clear and very helpful.
WOW! Thanks for sharing such a fantastic tutorial. I’m really looking forward to trying out this technique on a tank.
Thank you so much for posting this helpful tutorial. I had struggled with the basic dictionary of embroidery stitches guide and had ended up with just s mess. Your explaination was so simple and the pictures so clear. Many thanks.
Very beatiful “Mirror work”. You explained with photos is the core of this mirror work learning and you made it so simple with photos.
Thanks for sharing your art work.
Payal
wow a lovely clear tutorial with good pics
i feel i might be able to tackle a plush team challenge now
cat xxxx
Thank you for the very clear instructions
Its a wonderful tutorial! helpful for me to design a frock for my swetteeee….
Twitter: JoyfulAbode
Barbara, the large sequins are just from a craft store… you can also get small mirrors at craft stores, but they are heavier than traditional Shisha mirrors. So if you want to go authentic I’d suggest googling for an online source!
Looks great tutorial. Any help with suppliers of sisha mirrors or the very large sequins you used would be helpful.
Look forward to having a go.
Regards,
Barbara
hey this is amazing…its my parents’ 25th anniversary and i wanted some mirror work on a lehenga (indian) … just that i dint really get a clear picture of how it wud be done or how it wud look after the thread on it… and it looks fab… im gonna get the same thing done with golden and silver thread!! thumbs up!
This is a great tutorial! I’ve wanted to know how to do this for some time and you’ve made it seem so easy! Thank you!
Thanks for this tut. Very well done!
Twitter: JoyfulAbode
Leslie, this website ships to Canada and sells the little pailette sequins I used.
Small round mirrors are also available on Etsy and at craft store websites though these can be too thick for some uses… and you may benefit from filing or sanding the edges so they’re not as sharp if you decide to use them.
Good luck with whichever materials you decide to use! And I hope you post your projects to the Flickr group!
A lovely, well-explained and illustrated tutorial. I have been looking for a supplier of the mirrors for quite some time. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada, and cannot find them locally. Can you suggest a source?
Beautifully explained and neatly executed!
Excellent!
I will try and get this listed on my website.
Twitter: JoyfulAbode
Paulette, I’m not sure about doing the ovals, but the idea is the same… just create a “web” over it in a way that you think would hold it steady, then do your shisha stitching around it. I’d get a couple of similar mirrors and practice on other fabric before restoring your antique choli. Good luck!
I was wondering if you have bit larger inch oval mirror to restore missing shisha mirrors on an antique choli, do you make the same kind of spiderweb design on it. I think some of the threads would be too far away from the edge and create an uneven edge. What do you think? I will be looking forward to hearing from you.
[...] learned how to do shisha embroidery from my tutorial, then used it to add a gemstone to a hat she made for a [...]
Bless you!
This looks really easy to do based on your tutorial. I’m going to bookmark it so that I can come back to it later and try it!
[...] Joyful Abode has an easy to follow tutorial on how to embroider shisha mirrors. What are shisha mirrors you ask? They are little mirrors that are used to embellish clothing, [...]
This is great – the photos really helped explain the ‘blanket stitch’ part. And the suggestions of coins, big sequins and the like were great!
Thanks for the tutorial. I wondered how this technique was done!
Nice. Its just a shame nobody uses stuff like that anymore. Oh well…
I just “stumbledupon” this tutorial…it’s really great…can’t wait to try it!
that’s just too cool, i like it!
That is so pretty. I just love the look. Can’t wait to try it out. Thanks!
Wow. That is sooo gorgeous and inspirational! Thank you for sharing! The flickr photos are amazing as well.
Wow, than you so much!!! I have wondered about this for years and have wanted to do it for just as long. Why I didn’t just google it, I have no idea…but the tutorial is fabulous and I’m going to give it a whirl this weekend. Who knew it was that easy??? I’m thinking if I can embroider than, what else can I add to clothes? LOL. Thanks again, it’s a great tutorial and it was fabulous of you to share.
Wonderful tutorial. I can’t wait to give this a try later today. Thanks so much!
[...] Tutorial: Indian Shisha (mirror) Embroidery » Joyful Abode Tutorial: Indian Shisha (mirror) Embroidery (tags: embroidery) [...]
I have always wanted to know how to do this. This is so exciting, I can’t wait to try it! Thanks, very well explained!
Found you via the CRAFT blog — what a great tutorial! Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ll have to try it sometime!
This is the best tutorial for this kind of stitching I have found! The photos help a lot!!! Thank you for putting this online.
Beautiful tutorial!
Annie
This is fantastic! So beautiful, and a great advance embroidery tutorial. I love it!
This is by far one of my favorite tutorials you’ve done! Thank you so much for sharing it =D
This is a great tutorial!! Your photos are fantastic and the tutorial is really full of details! Got to give this a try
That’s gorgeous! My mother had a shirt like that, and I absconded with it sometime when I was in grade school because I /loved/ the “mirror shirt.” In fact, I think it’s still in my dresser at my parents’ house. Thanks for the nostalgia fodder and for telling me what that kind of decoration is called.