Erica; Shisha Work; 117

SZISH up. It's not what you think. It's nothing to do with sneezing but sheesh. It's the Indian word for Metta. And in the province of kush in northern India yes they have been doing a marvelous type of embroidery sewing down on the cloth. It's actually a mica that they use. And then nomadic tribes so they use these as tents sidings and doorways. And what could be more charming than having a magnificent front door like this that you could run up and take with you when you travel to a new place. This is an 18th century piece of Kutch work and it's very very finely embroidered in the top you can see circles. Each of the geometric designs has a little mirror inside which gives it a sparkle. And in the very center of the doorway is another circle and then further down the most American of

elephants down very very closely so that the stitch which holds the middle makes a square rather like a patchwork all in colors of red and green and blue and yellow. Then there's some more circles and a whole line of little figures holding hands are injured and reds and yellows again and below them a complete line of geometric patterns. It's quite easy to make up the pattern because you know limited to circles when you sewed on the middest. So they form their own design almost below the geometric BOTA as a complete border which surrounds the whole door which is almost as rich as peacock feathers closely and finally so and so that it covers the entire material. In Kutch to they do these

lovely head coverings which badly used the children. This one is red with lovely little circles of blue and yellow and green and white beads in between and there's a black one. At least the background is black linen or cotton and then the little mirrors again spaced evenly all over it. This is also an antique piece but it's been cut to form a handbag and in between the little flowers with the mirror in the center is that very complicated twisted Oriental stitch that I call Oriental but it's a braided stitch which is quite hard to do but it's so finely stitched that the whole surface is covered. Well some of these things have being cut down. You can see

my dress was made from an old piece. It's done with mess on the bodice and on they go into the hymn and it really is very splendid in color. So I decided that I'd really like to learn how to do this so that I could make all sorts of things with Mitrice. And it took me an awful long time to figure out how I want to do that stitch which hosts the little minnows flat. And then of course I couldn't even find Mina's. I went to the five and ten and bought some handbag Mina's and a glass cutter and cut my fingers to pieces trying to make circles. Then I discovered my law. That's an awfully beautiful shiny silvery aluminum material with a linen backing. So it's very flexible and easy to work with. You can just cut out

circles and it has that linen at the back of it. If you can't find my law I believe there are some other things called little switch a little plastic disks you can buy but you would have to just experiment and look around. If you can't find anything at all cut out some ordinary Post caught in a circle and with heavy duty aluminum foil just wrap it raw and I think that'll work pretty well because even though the aluminum foil may be delicate it's going to be surrounded by a thick rim of stitching which will hold it and protect it. So no you have either you know a Mylar you know glitter or you know aluminum foil in a circle. Now comes the great experiment of holding the mirror in place. If you put it into an embroidery frame you know a background material. Take a

great big stitch across on one side and then go down to the other side. And finally end up with the square making the stitch overlap the CONUS. Just like that. Now repeat that square. Come up over here a little to one side of the center and go down to one side of the Center on the next side. Not that a circle can have sides but at least the center between us to choose. And then go back back again and you see what I'm doing. I'm putting a diamond on top of the first square. So you end up with eight sided stitches so that the circle is held very firm in place. Just do two little

back stitches to secure your thread. And now you're ready to do the next stitch which is going to hold of the whole mylar down day. I think it's awfully hard to muster the stitch. It's a sort of double chain stitch. So I'm going to show you on dry land fest. I'm going to show you on the embroidery frame how to do it. And then later I'll do it around the mylar. Come up and go across and take a stitch looping the thread so that the needle comes up inside the loop go down to the other side and take another bite of the material looping the thread this time to the other side. I think I should show you the way you will be doing it towards you. This is how you would look at it you see.

If you just. Turn it like that loop it to the right and then to the left loop it to the right thread loops around to take your stage. Now loop it to the left. Now this is important you must go down inside the previous stitch. On the left you simply throw the thread on the right. I mean you throw this thread to the right and take a stitch on the left. You go back into your previous stitch right into it and do the same thing. Throw the thread to the right and take a stitch through the thread to the left and do the next ij.

I'm doing it in thing a large scale so that you get an idea of it. Now I'll take another thread and do it around the circle. Come up on the edge and go into. All those threads that you just put over the circle and go in on the outside of the circle again. And continue a round loop it to the right loop to the left. To the right and into the same stitch this back into a stitch. This is in fact just scale in rugby and you wouldn't necessarily be doing it quite as both is this. Although it's quite effective.

To take only a stick to see and throw you off thread. And then throw it over the side. Be sure that it's under the needle and continue right around yo circle. Eventually all the off hounding threads will be covered by this close stitching and you will have an effect of a chain stitch on the outside. One of my pupils in Nantucket made herself a dress she went out and bought some very inexpensive cotton material and dyed it pink and proceeded to do such embroidery work in some of the flaws you see. She added all sorts of other stitches and just use the middest to highlight it in places she couldn't quite muster the stitch. Well she came to me and she said you know this is

not the true stitch at all. But she made a very effective thing because it still looks quite delightful. Here's a handbag that's also done with mirrors and this time a red background with blue embroidery and silk. So that gives full impact to the glint of silver. He has a pair of blue jeans the background of the denim make such a nice neutral sort of background to set off the brilliant shiny my law. And I've worked them in quite wools in orange and magenta and dirty filthy green. And it means that they would have to be washed by hand in cold water. But it does wash just like a sweater. The wool will hold up. However if you want to throw them into the washing machine you could do the same thing in

embroidery cotton. I thought the blue jean material was so nice to work on that you could do a pillow. I bought some of that blue jean material which is brushed and I laid down my circles because you don't really have to plan you a pattern you can just make a ring of circles and then perhaps an outer ring and perhaps it's a good idea to help them out on fish with that holding down stitch. So that if you decide to change any of that angle you really wouldn't have to undo an awful lot of stitching because you can make your past and you see as you go along. Adding to the circles. Just remember to make it all square.

Like this. Sometimes it gets a little arresting but press on regardless because the whole thing will be held flat. However and you can stitch it as long as you remember to have a triangle on top of the square. Then you proceed to do your double Ching's stitch on top. Taking this thread into the material into the will and then throwing the loop over to the side and just taking a bite of the material pull it out. And pull it through. But now you know how to make it work gloriously with whether you cool it. I'm sure you'll love doing it.