Shisha Work

MacLeod, Margaret I. · February 1, 1972

Shisha (pronounced with a short ‘i,’ as in ‘ship’) is an embroidery technique in which tiny mirrors (originally pieces of reflective mica) are attached to fabric. It originated in northern India in the 17th century. At the beginning of the episode, Erica shows an 18th century piece of shisha from India. She also wears a dress made from an antique piece of shisha that was cut down at some point. Since it is a difficult technique to master, the project for the episode is simply learning how to do shisha. To begin, one must select the tiny mirrors to be used. Erica advocates using circles of linen-backed Mylar, rather than using actual mirrors, as it is easier to work with. Alternately, if backed Mylar cannot be found in one’s local craft store, cutting out small circles from index cards and wrapping them in heavy-duty aluminum foils works as well. Much of the episode is spent with a demonstration of the tricky double chain stitch that is used to permanently hold down the “mirrors” once the initial octagonal holding stitches are in place. At the end of the episode, Erica suggests projects that one could do in shisha once one has mastered the technique. She notes that shisha looks particularly striking on denim, and proposes shisha-embellished blue jeans (hand-wash only) or a denim pillow. Erica also shows a dress with shisha accents made by one of her students in Nantucket. Summary and select metadata for this record was submitted by Amanda Sikarskie.