Basic tutorial:
Click Here for a basic wrap strap Meh Dai Wrap tutorial
Carrier Description:
The meh dai/bei dai is a carrier of Chinese origin that is typically a rectangular body panel with four long straps at each of the four corners, The two bottom straps tie around the wearer’s waist, and the two top straps go around the wearer’s shoulders, over baby’s back, and tie in a knot. Meh dai and beh dai are both English transliterations of the same carrier, one from Cantonese and one from Mandarin.
Meh dai are typically considered a lovely intermediary between the ease of a structured buckle carrier and the coziness of a wrap, with a fairly easy learning curve. They can be used for quite small babies (even newborns in some cases) up through toddlers, although larger babies tend to need a larger body panel. They can be used for front, hip, and back carries, and in some cases, forward facing out.
A traditional meh dai has very little padding and fairly narrow straps, but modern meh dai and bei dai may include features like wide single layer wrap straps, padding partially down the shoulder straps, cinching mechanisms to make the panel smaller for smaller babies, or a structured or buckle waistband.
Other tutorials:
- Basic Meh Dai Tutorial from Sleeping Baby Productions
- The SewToot Versa (paid pattern; printable sewing pattern, lots of features)
- Tablecloth conversion meh dai from Fine & Fair
- Bea’s World “Meh Dai with Rings” (essentially a full buckle carrier but with rings instead of buckles)