Freestanding lace designs have been specially digitized for watersoluble stabilizer. After the stabilizer is removed, beautiful lace remains behind. When you download the design, you will find a total of 4 files. These are the front, back, side, and roof of the house (labeled a,b,c,d).

There are a couple of different kinds of water-soluble stabilizer. One is clear and plastic, and that brand is Sulky Ultra Solvy. The other is soft and fibrous, called Vilene. Both will 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.

Freestanding lace is seen from both sides, so wind a bobbin with the same thread that you're using in the needle. In this design, the front, back, and sides of the house all have two color lace. Follow the color change sheet and wind the bobbin for the first color.

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

Load the first file (a) onto your machine. Use 40 weight rayon or polyester thread. You can also use 30 weight cotton or metallic thread for most freestanding lace designs. Embroider the design. 

For the two color lace pieces, wind a second bobbin to match the thread you're using for the windows. Follow the color change sheet, and stop the machine after the main color of the house is finished sewing. Place the second bobbin in the machine and continue embroidering.

After embroidering, trim away the excess stabilizer.

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

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

Repeat the steps above to embroider the other lace pieces. You will need to embroider two of the side pieces (labeled with the letter "c") and two of the roof pieces (labeled with the letter "d") to make a complete house.

With the same thread used to embroider the main section of the house, zigzag stitch one side piece to both the left and right edges of the front piece (the section with the door). Make sure the right sides of the lace are all facing the same direction and that the scalloped detail is all lined up at the top of the pieces.

Next, zigzag stitch the remaining back piece to one of the sides.

Crease the corners lightly, and bend the four walls into a 3D square house. Either glue or hand sew the final corner together, so that it can stand on its own. If using glue wait for it to dry completely before continuing.

Using the same thread from the roof embroidery, zigzag stitch the top edges of the two roof pieces together.

Lightly crease the top bend of the roof, and glue or hand sew half of the roof onto the house. If using glue, wait for it to dry.

Then attach the other half of the roof.

Place this lace house over a battery-operated tea light to create sweet and delicate decor for your home.