Handmade bed cover from India. Tiny round laminate mirrors /glass are placed on fabric and made secure with a surrounding mesh of stitches. Different embroidery styles using dense stitches are used to create varied patterns.

The beautiful fort town of Jaisalmer and the small city of Barmer in Rajasthan are places where mirror work is produced and traded. Mirror work on textiles is said to have originated in 13th century Persia. The craft may have percolated into India from Baluchistan (Pakistan) during the Mughal era. Rumor has it that a queen of Emperor Shah Jahan patronized this textile tradition. Why mirrors? Popular belief says that Rajasthani women embroidered them onto their clothes so that light glinting from them would reflect and brighten their faces!