Baby Basket

Open top basket in an oblong shape

Rounded on one end, tappering to a flat end. The bottom is flat and rectilinear. The material is possibly cedar root. Red, black and white checkered imbrications on either sides created a vertical stripe pattern.

The basket would have suspended a small child to the side of the mother. This type of carrier would have had a shoulder strap attached to the basket to allow the mother to carry the baby meanwhile her hands could be kept free. They were used often for activities like berry picking where the mother required the use of her hands.

The coil method of this type of basketry required tools such as a needle, or bone awl in order to sew the coils together. Each successive coil is bound to the next by whipstitch sewing. Such coil baskets are formed by rods or splints placed side by side then the stitching around the rods to create the walls of the basket. The carrier uses the same coil technique for the base of the basket however these coils are stitched parallel to each other opposed to being stacked. Stylized with vertical bands, there is considerably less design on the side that would rest on the mothers' hip. The basket itself is shaped like an infant and tapers to snugly contour the baby.