Embroidery/Mirror Work

Embroidery has been an old art that has been around as long as people can remember. Over the years in Pakistan it's taken a beautiful turn, with various stitches being invented, and each as spectacular as the next one. While a lot of the stitches are distinctive, and are named after the region they are mostly found in, such as a Sindhi Karhai, Kashmiri Karhai, there are even some that have even been named after the big politicians of Pakistan, such as a Benazir Stitch and a Nawaz Sharif stitch. Similarly, sheesha or mirror work has also been used to decorate fabric. Sewing mirror into a design is hard enough, but when you combine elements of design and pattern into it, as well as bright, beautiful colors, it transforms the piece into an immediate piece of art.These days, a lot of embroidery is done by machines. But the intracy of hand-embroidery is still unbeaten. For many women in the rural areas, it's their primary source of income. A lot of non for profit organizations in Pakistan employ such women, so they can earn a livelihood and then sell their work on their behalf. It might take a longer time to finish a work by hand, but it's absolutely worth it