This design has been specially digitized for tearaway. After the stabilizer is removed, beautiful fabric and embroidery remains.

When you download the train car design, you will find multiple files. Some are the embroidery files, and the 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 printed dieline pieces with temporary adhesive and smooth it onto the right side of the fabric. For this design, every fabric piece (the front, back, and accent panels) of every file needs to have cutaway stabilizer on them.

Cut the dieline shapes out of the adhered fabric and cutaway stabilizer. Some of the fabric pieces have openings that need to be cut with a craft knife. Cut out each of the openings using a craft knife and cutting mat, then remove the paper dieline.

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

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 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.

Some pieces have a panel of fabric in an accent color. For these fabric pieces, embroider the "panel dieline" on top of the first fabric piece.

Spray the stabilizer side of the accent panel, fabric piece, and smooth it in place inside the sewn dieline. Then embroider the "panel tackdown" to adhere the fabric piece to the stabilizer.

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

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 stabilizer of the back fabric piece with temporary adhesive and smooth it into place on the back side of the embroidery.

Then place the hoop back onto the machine and embroider the "back piece tackdown". This will adhere the back piece in place on the back side of the hooped stabilizer. For this design, you only need to match bobbins if desired. The bobbin sides of the pieces will not be easily visible once the train is assembled. Then follow the color change sheet to embroider the remaining tabs and finishing borders.

After embroidering, tear away the excess stabilizer. Also make sure to remove the stabilizer from all the window openings.

Many of the pieces 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 pieces of the train car (files "a"-"g"). Make sure to place cutaway on the back of every single fabric piece as it will make the train pieces sturdy enough to hold themselves up when completed.

In this tutorial, the train car is designed to mostly use glue and embroidered glue tabs for assembly. There is one optional step at the end where hand sewing is recommended over gluing. If preferred, you can also hand sew all the pieces together in the same order as listed below. Simply use thread matching the embroidery.

To make gluing the train car together as easy as possible, glue tabs have been added to the file and they embroider with the rest of the design. These tabs are either long rectangles or small squares depending on if the edge is meant to be curved or straight in the end.

To use these tabs, simply place a generous amount of glue on the tab. For best results, glue long tabs in small sections so the glue goes not dry faster than you can line up the pieces. Glue small tabs one at a time so the glue does not dry out too fast.

Then place the glue tab with glue on it against the wrong side of the adjacent edge or fabric piece where it will not be seen.

To begin assembly, first take the end pieces with a door (file "c" or "d"). Place glue on the one long side tab.

This first door piece will be the inner door of the balcony. Glue this piece onto the wrong side of the first side piece (file "a" or "b"). Make sure the right side of the door lines up with the inner edge of the balcony window. Also make sure that the top corner of the door matches up with the top edge of the side piece (not the tab). The tab should be folded back toward the center of the car. Hold the pieces in place until the glue has dried.

Then repeat to glue the opposite side of the same inner door piece to the other side ("a" or "b"). Again, make sure the right side of the door lines up with the inner edge of the balcony window. Also make sure that the top corner of the door matches up with the top edge of the side piece (not the tab), and that the tab is folded back toward the center of the car. Hold in place until the glue has dried.

Then take the balcony end piece (file "e"), and place glue on the two side tabs. One is longer and toward the bottom, the other is the small square tab at the top. Do this on just the two tabs on one side for now.

Then glue the tabs of the balcony piece ("e") onto the wrong side of the appropriate side piece ("a" or "b"). This time match up the top and bottom corners with the corners of the side piece and make sure to leave a small gap between the pieces so they can fold. The balcony piece with the big opening should be glued onto the with the door piece that we added first. Hold the pieces in place until dry.

Repeat to glue the opposite side of the balcony piece ("e") onto the other side piece ("a" or "b"). Make sure to match up the top and bottom corners with the corners of the side piece. Leave a small gap for folding. Hold it in place until dry.

For the second door end piece (file "c" or "d"), place glue on the side tabs and glue them to the side pieces ("a" & "b") on the opposite end of the train from the balcony. Make sure to match up the top and bottom corners with the corners of the side piece, and leave a small gap between the pieces for folding. Hold it in place until dry.

Then place glue on the top left glue tab of either side piece ("a" or "b").

Glue the roof (file "f") onto the first, left glue tab, and hold it in place until it is dry. Make sure to match up the corner of the roof with the top corner of the side piece ("a" or "b"). After the glue has dried on that first piece, repeat to glue the other two top tabs of that side onto the wrong side of the roof. Once all tabs are glued, the corners of the roof should match up with the top corners of the side piece on both ends.

Then locate the 6 top tabs of the balcony ("e") and door piece ("c" or "d") that are on the same end. Place glue on all 6 of them, and quickly move to the next step.

Those 6 tabs will be glued onto the wrong side of the roof ("f"). They help to support the slight dome or curve of the room. Before gluing these tabs, it is important that you make sure the roof reaches all the way across to the other side so that all four corners of the roof match up. When gluing, reaching up through the bottom of the train with a small stick to push against the tabs can help to secure them in place. Add more glue as necessary and hold the tabs in place until dry.

Then repeat to glue the 3 small tabs on top of the opposite door piece ("c" or "d") onto the wrong side of the roof as well. Again, make sure the roof reaches all the way across to the other side piece so the corners match up on all sides. As always, leave a small gap for folding.

Then carefully fold in the remaining 3 top tabs on the second side piece ("a" or "b"), and glue them onto the wrong side of the roof. Gluing these tabs onto the roof one by one works the best, and you can also reach up through the bottom of the train with a small stick to push them onto the roof can secure them in place. Make sure to leave a small gap for folding, and hold each tab in place until dry.

Next, place glue on the bottom tab of the balcony piece ("e").

Then glue that tab onto the wrong side of the base piece (file "g"), matching it up with the bottom edge of the balcony piece ("e"). You can use either short end of the base for this step. Make sure the corners are lined up as well, leaving a small gap for folding. Hold it in place until dry.

Then place glue on the bottom edge of the inner door piece by the balcony ("c" or "d"). Fold the base piece down, and press it against this tab gently. In the image we have the base folded up so you can see which tab we are talking about, but for best results hold the base folded down flat against the bottom of the door pieces after you've placed the glue. You can even reach through the windows with a small stick to press the tab securely against the base piece if needed. It is important when gluing this tab that you make ensure the second short end of the base piece will reach the opposite end of the train. Once this is confirmed, hold the pieces in place until dry.

Then glue the bottom tab of the second door piece ("c" or "d") onto the wrong side of the base piece, making sure that the corners are lined up. As always, leave a gap for folding. Hold the pieces in place until dry.

The base piece ("g") has two long tabs on either side. Place glue along a small portion of either tab. This tab is easier to glue down if you only glue 1-2 inches of it at a time. Fold that long tab in, and glue it onto the wrong side of the adjacent side piece ("a" or "b"). Hold the pieces in place until dry.

Then repeat to fold the opposite long side tab of the base in, and glue it onto the wrong side of the adjacent side piece.

The balcony area has thin embroidered bars at the corners where the side pieces ("a" & "b") and the balcony end piece ("e") meet. If desired, you can hand sew the two bars together at the corner to make them more secure while also getting rid of the gap. A simple whip stitch using a thread that matches the embroidery works great for this. Repeat to sew the other corner as well if you decide to sew the bars together. This step is optional, and will just make the train look even nicer than it already did!

To connect the train engine, cars, and caboose, locate the small loops that embroidered on each of the base pieces. You can use whatever you like to connect these loops together. You can use jewelry chain or jump rings, or you can even tie the loops together using ribbon or twine.