The Miao people form one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China. Miao women make clothes and accessories for their babies, which then make up part of a bride's dowry. Baby carriers are decorated with designs that serve as protection against evil spirits. The decorative technique is "horsetail embroidery". Small bundles of horsehair are wrapped with coloured silk threads to create long strands, then stitched down ("couched") onto flat cotton panels.
