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About Shisha Mirrors |
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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 is embroidered using coloured silks, metal threads, sadi and 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 and is used in many exciting designs and applications, both classical and innovative. Shisha is available in large and small diamond shapes, as well as, large and small circles. There are no holes drilled in shisha, so to attach the mirrors, you must make a framework of stitches over and around the shisha. Shisha is a charming and inexpensive way to add interest and beauty to many crafts. |
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How To Use Shisha Mirrors |
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| 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 and Metallics can all be used in shisha work for a wonderful effect. |
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| As you stitch, experiments with different stitches, most 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. |
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| Note:Always smooth shisha with honing stone or crocus cloth. | |
| Below is one method to apply Shisha Mirrors. There is a free pamphlet available with purchase. Also the book Sadi Thread and Shisha Mirrors has a number of ways to apply Shisha Mirrors | |
| Tic Tac Toe Application | |
| To start, place the shisha on the 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 and 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 and 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, as per diagram below. The shisha will then be secure, and the inside square of the frame will provide the base from which you can work decorative stitches |
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Order Minimum is $10.00 before shipping and any applicable taxes. |
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Sizes and Shapes |
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| Name | Dimensions | Image |
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Large Diamond |
17mm x 25mm |
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Small Diamond |
10mm x 15mm |
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Large Round - sold out |
24mm diameter |
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Small Round - sold out |
12mm diameter |
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How To Buy Shisha Mirrors |
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Shisha mirrors are packaged in bottles as shown at the right. There are different numbers of mirrors in the bottle depending upon the size of the mirror.
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Order Minimum is $10.00 before shipping and any applicable taxes. |
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