3D Christmas Village (In-the-Hoop)

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

Cutaway stabilizer is also used in the construction of these buildings, as it provides extra stability in support in the finished product.

When you download a 3D Christmas Village 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 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 them onto the right side of the fabric. For this design, every fabric piece of every file needs to have cutaway stabilizer on them (both the front and back pieces).

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 tear-away 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.

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.

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. Some pieces (like the base pieces) will not have any internal details. 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 side 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 they are assembled.

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

After embroidering, tear away the excess stabilizer. 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 your chosen buildings. Make sure to put cutaway stabilizer on the back side of every front and back fabric piece for stability.

In this tutorial, the buildings are designed to use glue and embroidered glue tabs for easier assembly. If preferred, you can also hand sew 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 buildings together as easy as possible, glue tabs have been added to the file. They will have been embroidered with the rest of the design. These tabs are the rectangles that embroidered along some piece edges.

To use these tabs, simply apply a generous amount of glue on each tab as you go. For best results, glue long tabs in small sections so the glue does not dry faster than you can line up the pieces.

Once glue has been applied to a tab, place it against the wrong side of the appropriate 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. This gap allows for the pieces to fold easily once they are glued together. Always hold the pieces together until the glue dries.

To begin assembly, take the base piece with two small glue tabs (piece "b"), and place glue along the two small tabs on either side of the circle opening.

Then glue those two tabs onto the wrong side of other base piece (piece "a"). Line up the outer edges of the two pieces and leave a small gap between them to allow for folding. The right side of the embroidery for both pieces should be facing the same way.

Then place glue along either of the long tabs on the base piece ("a" & "b" combined).

Find one of the side pieces that matches the width of the glued edge. Then place the glued, long tab of the base piece onto the wrong side of the chosen side piece. Make sure to line up the outer edges of the two pieces and leave a small gap between them to allow for folding. The right sides of the embroidery should all be facing the same way.

Repeat to glue the remaining three side pieces onto the base piece. The two sides with points at the top (pieces "e" a d "f") should be on opposite sides of the base if done correctly. Line up the outer edges of the two pieces, leave a small gap between them to allow for folding, and make sure the right sides of the embroidery are all facing the same way.

On the first side piece with a flat top (piece "c"), place glue on the left side tab.

Fold up the pointed side (piece "e" or "f") that is to the left of side "c". Join piece "c" with piece "e" or "f" using the glued tab from piece "c" to connect both pieces together. This will make the building's 3D shape start to take form.  Both the top and bottom edges of the two pieces should line up, with a small gap between them to allow for folding.

Repeat to glue the right tab of side "c" onto the other pointed side piece (piece "e" or "f"). Match up the outer edges of the pieces with the right sides of the embroidery facing the same way. Three sides should now be standing up.

Repeat the previous steps and glue both the right and left tabs of the remaining flat top side (piece "d") onto the two pointed side pieces (pieces "e" & "f"). In the end, all four sides will be standing up. As always, line up the top and bottom outer edges of the pieces, leaving a small gap between to allow for folding.

On either pointed side piece (pieces "e" or "f"), place glue on the top left tab.

Glue the tab onto the short edge of the roof (piece "g") that has a long upper tab on it. It is very important that the top corner and edge of the roof piece (the edge with the tab) lines up perfectly with the top point of the side piece. Leave a small gap between them for folding, and make sure the right sides of the embroidery face the same way.

Then fold the roof piece down into place, and glue it onto the top tab of the opposite side (piece "e" or "f"). The point of the side piece and the top corner of the roof should be lined up very carefully, leaving a small gap between them for folding. The right sides of the embroidery should also be facing the same way.

Repeat the previous steps and glue the other roof piece (piece "h") onto the two remaining top tabs of the pointed side pieces (pieces "e" & "f").

Gently bend in either of the flat topped side pieces (piece "c" or "d") so you can see the top tab that is now hidden under the roof. Place glue along that tab.

Then reach inside the building and press that tab against the wrong side of the roof piece to secure them together. For best results, press from both the inside and outside at the same time, and glue this tab using small sections of glue - maybe 1 - 2" at time. If your hand does not fit inside, a long tool like a paintbrush handle or popsicle stick can be used instead. The roof should have an overhang that extends out past the top of the side piece.

Repeat the previous steps to glue the top edge of the flat side piece to the underside of the opposite roof piece.

Next, place glue on the top tab of the roof (piece "g")

Glue that tab onto the opposite upper roof (piece "h"). This will close up the top of the barn. Pinching the two roof pieces together, or pressing on the tab with a long tool through the bottom opening can help the tab touch all the way across. Make sure to leave a small gap for folding.

If making the church, follow the steps below to create its steeple out of the extra pieces. If not making the church, continue to the last step of the tutorial which talks about using electric candles or fairy lights inside the building

For the church's steeple, first place glue on the right glue tab of either steeple side piece (piece "i" or "k").

Glue that tab onto the front steeple piece (piece "j"). Make sure to match up the bottom edges of the side and front (not the tabs), and also make sure that the embroidered sides are facing the same way. Leave a small gap between the pieces to allow for folding.

Repeat to glue the remaining side piece (piece "k" or "i") onto the right side of the front steeple piece (piece "j"). Then glue the back steeple piece (piece "L") on the right side of the second side piece. Make sure to match up all the bottom edges and keep the embroidery facing the same way. As always, leave a small gap between the pieces to allow for folding.

Then glue the last unused side tab (on "k" or "i") onto the right side of the back steeple piece (piece "l"). This will make the four pieces stand up and the steeple's 3D shape will start to take form. Make sure to line up the bottom edges of the pieces and leave a gap for folding.

Then place glue on either of the bottom tabs on the front piece (piece "j").

Line up the front steeple piece with the front piece of the church, so the steeple is sitting on the edge of the roof. The indent of the steeple piece should sit perfectly on the peak of the roof. Press the tab against the roof and hold it in place until the glue is dry

Repeat to glue the remaining five bottom tabs of the steeple onto the roof (one at a time) for best results. Hold each tab until the glue is completely dry before moving onto the next one. Doing so will make it easier to line everything up. If needed, you can use a long thin tool through the top opening of the steeple to push the tabs down against the roof, and another tool up through the candle hole in the bottom of the church to push the roof up.

The roof will be glued to the steeple just as we attached the roof onto the main building shape. First, place glue on the top left tab of the front piece (piece "j").

Then glue the roof piece with the top tab onto that glue tab, so the roof's tab is facing up toward the peak. It is very important that the top corner and the top edge of the roof piece line up perfectly with the point on the front piece. Leave a small gap between them for folding and make sure the right sides of the embroidery are facing the same way.

Then glue the other side of the roof (piece "m") onto the correct top tab on the back steeple piece (piece "l"). Repeat to add the other roof piece (piece "n") onto the other top two tabs.

Gently bend in the side pieces and glue the top tabs onto the wrong side of both roof pieces. Make sure to repeat on both sides and hold them in place until dry.

To complete the steeple on the church, fold the top roof tab in, and glue the two roof pieces together. Pinching the roof pieces together can help make sure the glue tab attaches all the way across. Make sure to leave a small gap for closing.

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