To start with, a stencil of the desired image is prepared by drawing a full-size image on paper and perforating the lines with a needle. This stencil is placed over the cloth that will form the background and is dabbed with a cloth laden with powdered white chalk to render the drawing visible. The individual figures assembled from silk brocade are stitched onto this background and outlined with silk-wrapped strands of Mongolian horse tail. The completed image is mounted on a plain white cotton backing before finally being framed in a brocade border.