Karen Weavers from Chiang Mai Win Royal Fabric Award
Karen weavers from Ban Lai Kaeo in Chiang Mai's Doi Tao district won a silver medal at the 2026 royal fabric competition for a handwoven textile featuring traditional patterns and natural dyes. The award-winning piece was created by three women weavers using a specialized supplementary weft technique passed down through generations. The achievement highlights the community's collective effort to preserve their cultural heritage while adapting their craft for modern fashion.
At the 2026 annual royal fabric and handicraft competition, a handwoven textile created by a new generation of Karen weavers from Ban Lai Kaeo in Doi Tao district, Chiang Mai, earned a silver medal in the ethnic fabric category. The atmosphere at the final judging round was tense as the community awaited the results. The intricate patterns and natural colors were designed by Khru Tui Janthakam Pu Ped, president of the Ban Lai Kaeo Karen Weaving Learning Center, who represented the village at the award ceremony.
This first runner-up prize is a source of immense pride for the Ban Lai Kaeo community, the product of many lives: cotton growers, natural dyers, pattern creators, designers, and seamstresses. Elder women provided vital support by spinning and winding yarn, enabling the younger weavers to produce a textile of profound value. Beyond demonstrating the Karen people's weaving expertise, the piece boldly proclaims their ethnic identity through striking traditional motifs and vivid natural colors — entirely handmade and, most importantly, woven with heart.
Khru Tui explained, "The selected work, named 'Karen Fabric with Royal Pattern: Miluanla Buraparajini,' was woven by three artisans: Sri La Hongkhue, Saowanee Sukbae, and Sukanya Nuppia, using cotton dyed entirely with natural colors and employing the supplementary weft technique, a specialized individual skill. All three are second- and third-generation weavers of our village." Saowanee Sukbae is renowned in the village for her mastery of diverse supplementary weft patterns, while Sri La Hongkhue and Sukanya Nuppia are equally celebrated for their exquisite execution. All three continue to weave under their homes while caring for elderly parents and growing children.
Young people from this remote village in Doi Tao district, Chiang Mai, have joined forces to bring their craft heritage forward. They not only preserve their cultural roots but also innovate, adapting Karen under-house weaving into contemporary fashion — a sustainable journey they walk together, step by step.
Thung Sang Tawan presents the simple, beautiful life of the Karen people of Doi Tao in the series "Karen of Doi Tao," available online via the Thung Sang Tawan page and PayaiTV on YouTube, with new episodes every Saturday. Follow along to catch stories from communities across Thailand. By Wasawan Rongdech.
