The Craft
Shisha Embroidery
Shisha — the Persian word for glass — is the craft of anchoring small mirrors into fabric with a cage of fine hand stitches. Real hand-cut glass mirrors are pressed flat against the cloth, then locked in place by the embroiderer's needle working in tight radiating loops around the edge.
No adhesive, no heat — only thread holds each mirror in place permanently. Originating in the folk traditions of Kutch and Sindh, shisha embroidery was historically believed to deflect the evil eye: light caught in the mirror turns misfortune back to its source.
