Mirror Work or Shisha Work or Glass Work

Mirror Work or Shisha Work is an oldest ethnic form of embroidery where the mirror which is a flat piece which can be made of glass or plastic is attached on to the fabric using embroidery stitches to give decorative effects. It is a very traditional form of embroidery. 

The mirrors can be in various sizes and shapes and can be made up of plastic or glass. The use of the glass mirrors on the fabric gives a very original look but adds to the weight of the fabric. So using lots of glass mirrors on light weight fabrics like chiffon or georgette is not a good idea as it might spoil the fabric. Plastic mirrors, though it does not give much original look can be easily used on light weight fabrics as they are light in weight. The shape of the mirror can be square, circle, diamond, traingle, polygon etc. 

Mostly Button Hole stitch is used to attach mirrors on to the fabric. Mirror work can be done by hand or by machine. Other embroidery stitches can also be used to add to the decorative effect. 

In this post i have shared with you the technique of doing mirror work and images of different mirror work samples and products. 

Lord Ganesha motif embroidered with mirror work combined with other types of embroidery

How to do Mirror Work?

1) Hold the mirror in place on the fabric. 

2) Insert the threaded needle from the wrong side of the fabric through the fabric and bring it to the front of the fabric. Take it over the mirror and make four grids like a square on the mirror. 

3) Now bring the needle to the side of the grid and continue working button hole stitch around the grid. 


Images of Mirror Work Samples and Products

Mirror embroidered saree and blouse

Plastic mirror work sample

Mirror work sample combined with bead and pearl embroidery

Choli embroidered with mirror work

Applications of mirror work

As said before mirror work is often combined with other colorful embroidery stitches for decorative effects. Mirror work is widely used in products like bags, pillow covers, women's tops, kurtis, Sherwanis, women's foot wears, lehengas and cholis, sarees etc. Banjara embroidery which is a kind of tribal embroidery practiced by tribals of karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use mostly mirror work in their Products. 

Mirror Work Using Machine

Like other type of embroidery, mirror work can also be done using machines which is more faster and easier compared to hand embroidery. 

                          Image of a mirror embroidery sample done using machine