Tapestry restoration techniques are diverse. They have evolved and been a subject of much debate over time. A deteriorating tapestry can be restored to its original state, for example. This involves reweaving the missing parts and replacing broken or missing warps. After dyeing the weft threads (wool and silk) to match the original shades, the design is recreated on the basis of existing cartoons (drawn models) or photographs. Most of the time, however, the original cartoons are no longer available. In addition, many parts of a piece have been rewoven, it is considered to have leses authenticity and historical value. As a result, there is general preferences to keep interventions to a minimum today and reinforcement and prevention of further deterioration are chosen rather than restoration. The term conservation is generally preferred for this reason.

A few essential principles guide conservator-restorers1 in their work: respect for the original - reversibility of interventions - minimum treatment, aimed essentially at prolonging the life of the work. In contemporary conservation, the state in which the tapestry was found is respected and any reconstitution is avoided so as not to betray the original. This was not so in the past. The tapestries inherited today have often been subjected to multiple restorations: reweavings have been carried out arbitrarily, pieces from other tapestries have been recovered and added to fill in holes, salvaged threads unrelated to the tonalities of the tapestry have been woven in, etc. Today's conservator-restorers are nevertheless careful to respect the different phases of the tapestry's life as far as possible.

Tapestry conservation has several stages. Before any work is done, a complete examination of the tapestry's historical, technical and scientific condition is carried out. Various issues may be encountered, ranging from the gaping between colour switches to the sagging of the tapestry; discolouration; accumulation of dust; the presence of old restorations that no longer comply with current rules. The next stage, cleaning the piece, is particularly delicate. First, both sides of the tapestry are lightly vacuumed to remove dust, and then, if necessary, lightly dampened, taking care not to discolour or deform the textile. Next, comes the operation called rentrayage, which involves re-sewing the intermediaries - the technical terme for the gaps that open between two areas of colour.2 If they are too visible, old intermediaries are removed and replaced using thread in a suitable colour. The following phase is reinforcement of the tapestry; this involves attaching pieces of linen to the back of the tapestry to stabilize the more fragile areas, such as previous restorations or bare or broken warps. The colour of the linen used depends on the tone of the area to be strenghtened, and is chosen to blend in as harmoniously as possible with the rest of the tapestry. The conservator-restorer works with one hand above and one hand below the tapestry which is stretched horizontally so as not to pick at the warp threads. Finally, the tapestry is lined completely with a linen fabric to which a Velcro strip has been sewn beforehand for suspending the object. This distributes the textile's weight evenly along the  entire length. In addition to aproper hanging or storage method, good conservation conditions in terms of light, temperature and humidity are very important for the lifespan of the tapestry.