Completed tapestry The games children play designed by Robert Ingpen AO, and woven by John Dicks Sue Batten and Emma Sulzer on the loom. 
All projects begin with the selection of colours. By using the artwork as a guide, weavers select from the extensive range of in-house dyed yarns - over 360 wool and 200 cotton colours - to form a base pallette.
Image: Yarn cones at The Australian Tapestry Workshop
The Workshop uses carefully selected undyed wool for weaving. The wool is dyed on the premises.
Next, small samples of key areas from the final design are woven to scale prior to the commencement of weaving to resolve any technical problems posed by the interpretation and to establish the final palette. An artwork can be interpreted in many different ways, therefore samples play an important role in facilitating discussion with the artist about the final approach.
Image: Sample loom with sample based on design by John Wolseley for the tapestry Fire and water- moths, swamp and lave flows of the Hamilton Region, commissioned by the Hamilton Art Gallery
With the samples finished the loom is prepared for weaving. Cotton warps (vertical threads) are wrapped around the loom's bottom roller and threaded through the reed (a series of parallel metal slats that separate the threads of the warp) to maintain the correct spacing between the warp threads. The warp is then rolled onto the top roller, a shed bar threaded through and the leashes tied.
Image: Two weavers warping up the bottom roller of a loom, ATW.
Now the weaving of the tapestry begins. Collaboration between artist and weaver continues throughout, with the frequency of visits depending on the availability of the designing artist.
Image: From left to right- Weavers Milly Formby and Amy Cornall with designing artist Song Ling discuss the weavers interpretaion. This tapestry, titked Kong Fu- our dream 1 was commissioned by Deakin University.
Traditionally the cartoon is a sketch based on the artwork which serves as the 'map' for the tapestry. At the ATW this is typically either a black and white photographic enlargement, or a line drawing. The cartoon is mounted behind the warped so that the image can be traced onto the warps using ink. This process is called inking on, and is done periodically as the work progresses.
Weaver Cheryl Thornton prepares the cartoon for the tapestry Untitled, designed by artist David Noonan.
The length of time a tapestry takes to weave and how many weavers are involved in a project depends on the scale of the project and the complexity of the design.
Image: Weaver Milly Formby at the loom, working on the Ben Mckeown designed tapestry, Spring Street end, commissioned be the State Library of Victoria.
Once weaving is completed, the finished tapestry is rolled up so that as much of the image as possible can be viewed.
Tapestries are organic and shift with changes in temperature and tension; therefore the tension on the loom is released to allow the tapestry to settle before the final stages of production.
The tapestry is then cut off the loom. This may be done by the weavers, although sometimes those involved in the commissioning. Stakeholders and artists are invited to praticipate as part of the cuttinng -off-ceromony.
Image: Weavers - from left to right: Sue Batten and Amy Cornall cut down the Yvonne Todd designed tapestry Alice Bayke from the loom. This tapestry was commissioned by the Queensland Art Gallery.
Once the tapestry has been cut off the loom it needs to be finished and prepared for hanging. A 10 - 15cm easement woven at the top and bottom of the tapestry, known as the hem, is folded over and sewn down, providing a platform onto which the Velcro hanging system can be sewn. For conservation purposes, a protective lining covering the back of the tapestry is attached.
Image: Weaver Milly Formby prepares the tapestry for hemming.
