A woman may spend months weaving a single huipil when complex techniques or designs are required. Through the choices of design, material and finishing technique, information can be read about the weaver's birth-place, religious background, social position, weaving skill, and personality. Indigenous women can read the complex encoded messages in each other's huipiles at a glance.

Huipiles are constructed of from one to three brocaded lienzos (rectangular panels) woven on a backstrap or foot-treadle loom, or may be fabricated from commercial cloth that is embellished with embroidery or appliqué. When multiple panels are used, they are sewn together lengthwise, using a variety of joining techniques, often with a randa (decorative over-stitch). The opening for the head is made either by leaving the panels un-sewn, creating a slit opening, in the case of the 2-panel garment, or by cutting a hole in a round, square or V-shape form, in the case of 1 and 3 panel huipiles. Neck and arm openings can either be left unfinished, trimmed with appliqués, hand or machine embroidered, crocheted or finished with a variety of decorative stitches. Sleeves are rare on huipiles, but appear on those of Sololá, Santiago Chimaltenango, and on some baby huipiles.

In some villages with short huipiles it is worn loose, hanging outside the skirt, although in most villages it is worn tucked in. Minimal tailoring may help draw up the shoulders or taper the garment to the body. The majority of huipiles are brocaded, whereby designs are created during the weaving process through the introduction of supplementary weft threads. Santiago Atitlán, Patzún, and San Andres Xecul are among the few villages that adorn their huipiles with hand embroidery, which is surface decoration added with needle and thread. A distinction is usually made between a hand woven village specific huipil, and a blusa (blouse) that is constructed from commercial fabric, although some blusa styles may be village specific and thus considered huipiles.

Distinct styles exist in many villages for daily and special uses, such as weddings, and cofradía (civic-religious brotherhood) events. Often worn over the daily use huipil, the ceremonial huipil is usually larger than the daily-use garment, frequently made of more expensive materials such as silk or ixcaco (local natural brown cotton), and often bears different designs in an older traditional style that is thus important in maintaining village weaving traditions.

The huipil is the ultimate expression of native weaving artistry, proclaiming the wearer's identity as a woman and individual within her community.