Karen Cotton Baby Carrier

A faded red cloth carries a navy panel with crossed pink stitches at its heart.

This Karen embroidered cotton baby carrier is Karen, from Burmese Border, Thai / Burmese Border, Thailand, and dates to the 20th century. The Karen are a group of peoples living in the hills along the Thai and Burmese border, and their woven and embroidered cotton cloth is often made by women. A worn red textile with a pink and black embroidered rectangle at the top and a deep blue arched field below, ringed by thin orange and cream stripes. Small crossed stitches in coral sit at center, and the lower left edge shows fraying. It is 18 inches wide and 26 long.

Mended and loved in equal measure, and it shows.