3D Freestanding Fabric and Lace Designs (In-the-Hoop)

Files "a" (the side pieces) and "b" (the top piece) of this design have been specially digitized for tearaway stabilizer. After the stabilizer is removed, beautiful fabric and embroidery remain.

When you download the design, you will find multiple files. Some are embroidery files; others are dieline files marked with the letters "DL". Dielines are used to cut the fabric to the correct shape and size. Open and print each dieline file using embroidery software. If you do not have embroidery software, take a look at our  helpful video  on using dielines.

First, spray one side of a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive. Smooth the stabilizer onto the wrong side of all the fabric pieces.

Then spray the backside of the front printed dieline pieces with temporary adhesive and smooth them onto the right side of the fabric. For the back printed dieline, spray the backside with adhesive, and smooth it onto the right side of a piece of fabric without any stabilizer.

Cut the dieline shapes out of the fabric (for the back pieces), and the adhered fabric and cutaway stabilizer (for the front pieces). For all side pieces and the top piece, the front fabric piece should have stabilizer on the wrong side, and the back fabric piece should just be fabric.

Hoop a piece of tearaway stabilizer firmly. Make sure it is nice and taut with no wrinkles.

Follow the color change sheet to embroider the entire design. Match the bobbin to every thread color as you sew if desired. Attach the hoop onto the machine and load the first embroidery file (not the dieline files). Use a 75/11 sharp sewing needle instead of an embroidery needle. The sharp sewing needle has a finer point, and it will make smaller perforations in the stabilizer.

Embroider the design. The first thing to embroider will be the "front piece dieline" (or outline stitch). This marks the area on the stabilizer where the fabric piece will be placed.

After the dieline has sewn, remove the hoop from the machine but do not unhoop the stabilizer. Spray the stabilizer side of the front fabric piece with temporary adhesive. Smooth the front fabric piece onto the stabilizer inside of the sewn dieline.

Then place the hoop back onto the machine and embroider the tackdown for the front fabric piece. The tackdown will hold the fabric piece in place for the remainder of the design.

After the front fabric piece is in place, all of the inner details of the embroidery will sew out. Stop before sewing the "back piece tackdown" step.

Before sewing the "back piece tackdown" step, remove the hoop from the machine and turn it over so the back side of the embroidery is facing up. Spray the wrong side of the back fabric piece with temporary adhesive, and smooth it into place on the back side of the embroidery

Once assembled, both the front and back sides of each piece will be visible. To make both sides look nice, wind a bobbin with the same thread that is being used in the top needle, and use it for the remaining embroidery steps.

Load the matching bobbin into the machine, place the hoop back onto the machine, and embroider the "back piece tackdown" step. This will adhere the back piece in place on the back side of the hooped stabilizer.

Follow the color change sheet to embroider any remaining glue tabs and finishing borders.

After embroidering, tear away the excess stabilizer from around the piece.

The side pieces will also have small openings between the fabric pieces and the embroidered tabs. Use a small scissor or tweezers to remove the small pieces of stabilizer from these areas.

Repeat these steps to embroider all the fabric in-the-hoop pieces. Make sure to put cutaway stabilizer on the back side of every front piece for stability. To make a whole pumpkin, you will need a total of ten side pieces (file "a"), and just one top piece (file "b").

Files "c" (the base piece), "d" (the stem), and "e" (the leaf) are all digitized as freestanding lace. Freestanding lace designs have been specially digitized for water-soluble stabilizer. After the stabilizer is removed, beautiful embroidery remains. When you download the design, you will find three files containing the lace pieces of the pumpkin.

There are a couple different kinds of water-soluble stabilizer. One is clear and plastic - that brand is Sulky Ultra Solvy. The other is soft and fibrous - called Vilene. Both work very well. Vilene is used in this demonstration.

Use a size 11 or 75/11 sharp sewing needle. A sharp sewing needle has a smaller, finer point than an embroidery needle. That means it will make smaller holes in the stabilizer.

As the freestanding lace pieces will be seen from both sides, wind a bobbin with the same thread that is being used in the top needle

Hoop the stabilizer firmly. Make sure it is nice and taut with no wrinkles

Attach the hoop to the machine and load a lace file. Embroider the freestanding lace piece using a matching bobbin.

After embroidering, trim away the excess stabilizer.

The stabilizer's packaging should give instructions for removing the excess. For Vilene, soak the embroidered lace for a few hours

Allow the lace to air dry and then press it with a pressing cloth on top.

Repeat the steps above to embroider all of the lace pieces for the pumpkin. To make a whole pumpkin, you will need one base piece (file "c"), one stem (file "d"), and one leaf (file "e").

In this tutorial, the pumpkin is designed to use glue and embroidered glue tabs for easier assembly. If preferred, however, you can hand sew all the pieces together in the same order as listed below. Simply use thread matching the embroidery, and sew the pieces together along the outer borders, ignoring the glue tabs.

To make gluing the pumpkin together as easy as possible, glue tabs have been added to some of the files. They will have been embroidered with the rest of the design. These tabs are the rectangles that embroidered along some edges of the pieces.

To use these tabs, simply apply a generous amount of glue on the tab. For best results, glue tabs one at a time, and hold each tab in place until the glue fully dries.

Then place the glue tab, with glue on it, against the wrong side of the adjacent piece where it will not be seen. Make sure to line up the inner edge of the glue tab (closest to the small connecting lines) with the outer edge of the other piece. This will leave a small gap between the pieces where you can see the small connecting lines. This gap allows for the pieces to fold easily along it once they are glued together. Always hold the pieces together until the glue dries.

The base piece (file "c") is divided up into 10 sections found between the small lines. These 10 sections help show you where to place each of the 10 side pieces so they are evenly spaced.

To begin assembly, take a side piece (file "a"), and place glue on the bottom glue tab

Then glue that tab onto the wrong side of the base piece (file "c"). Center the glue tab on one of the 10 sections so it sits between two of the short lines. Make sure to leave a small gap for folding. The right sides of both pieces should be facing the same way. Hold it in place until dry

Repeat those two steps to glue the remaining 9 sides onto the base piece. Center each of the glue tabs on one of the 10 sections so that they sit between two of the short lines. As always, make sure to leave a small gap for folding. The right sides of both pieces should be facing the same way. Hold each one in place until it is dry.

On the stem piece (file "d") place glue on the top side tab.

Then roll the stem to make it a cylinder, tuck the glue tab under the right side of the stem, and glue it onto the wrong side. Make sure to match up the top edges and hold it in place until dry. Do not try and do both tabs at once as it make it very hard to line up.

Once the top side tab is dry, tuck the lower side tab under the right edge, and glue it in place on the inside of the stem. Hold it in place until the glue dries.

Place glue on either of the bottom glue tabs of the stem. Make sure to place the glue on the right side of the tab

Fold the glue tab with glue up into the stem so it is flush with the bottom edge. Then fold the second tab into the stem so it gets glued onto the first. This should make the bottom opening of the stem into a flat surface

Place glue onto the attached bottom glue tabs of the stem and glue it onto the top piece (file "b"). Make sure to center the stem on the right side of the top piece as best as possible. Hold in place until the glue dries.

Take the leaf (file "e"), and place a small amount of glue on the wrong side of the stem of the leaf.

Then slightly tuck the stem of the leaf under the pumpkin stem, and glue the leaf in place onto the top piece. Hold until dry.

Place glue on the top tab of any of the side pieces (file "a").

Then glue that tab onto the wrong side of the top piece (file "b"). Line it up so the edge of the tab lines up with the edge of the top piece. Hold it in place until dry.

Then repeat to glue the remaining side pieces around the outer edge of the top piece. While gluing, look closely at how the sides are spaced on the base piece, and try and space out the side pieces the same amount when gluing them onto the top piece. This means leaving a small gap in between each piece near the glue tab. For best results, glue them on one at a time and hold each one in place until dry.

The round opening in the base is used to place an electric candle or fairy lights inside the pumpkin. Make sure to use only electric or battery powered lights. Do not use actual flames as the pumpkin is flammable