---

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

---

When you download the gingerbread house 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, Wilcom TrueSizer is a free program to use.

---

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

---

Then spray the back side of the printed dieline pieces with temporary adhesive, and smooth it onto the right side of the fabric. For this design the front and back fabric pieces for every file will have cutaway stabilizer on them.

---

Cut the dieline shapes out of the adhered fabric and cutaway stabilizer. Many 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.

---

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 tear-away 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. 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.

---

As all the embroidery from here on out will be seen from both sides, wind a bobbin to match each of the remaining thread colors used into the design. For this design, the pieces with candy canes will need two bobbin colors to be wound.

---

Place the bobbin into the machine, and follow the color change sheet to embroider the "back piece tackdown".

---

Then embroider the remaining details, ribbon holes, and finishing borders.

---

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

---

Repeat these steps to embroider all the pieces of the gingerbread house (files "a"-"h"). Make sure to embroider two roof pieces (file "h") as two will be needed to make the final house.

---

In this tutorial, the gingerbread house is assembled using ribbons. If preferred, a hot glue gun or other clear glue of your choice can be used to assemble the design instead.

---

You can also use a hand sewing needle and thread matching the embroidered borders to hand sew all the pieces together.

---

To assemble the house using ribbons, first use an awl to punch a hole into every embroidered eyelet across all the pieces. Make sure your awl makes a big enough hole for your needle to pass through with a ribbon threaded through it. A needle puller can also be helpful to pull the threaded needle through the punched hole.

---

The pieces of the gingerbread house can be tied together with ribbons in two different ways. The first is a double knot that is hidden on the inside of the house. This leaves only a small band of ribbon visible on the finished product.

---

For this method, cut a piece of ribbon that is 3-4 inches long.

---

Thread your needle, and thread it through the two or three eyelets used to connect your pieces. Make sure both tails of the ribbon end up on the back side of the pieces.

---

Then tie a double knot.

---

Ribbon does not stay tied well on its own. To prevent the ribbon from coming loose, place a small drop of glue (we used Elmer's all-purpose glue in this tutorial) right on the knot of your ribbon.

---

Then lightly rub glue with a paper towel to spread it on all sides of the knot, and remove any excess glue.

---

It is very important to allow the glue to dry completely. Then trim the tails down, so they are about 1/4" in length.

---

The second way to use the ribbons is to tie the pieces together with bows. These bows are both functional and decorative, and will be visible on the outside of the final house. One way of tying upright bows is shown below. To learn this method, follow the steps below, and practice if desired. If you wish to tie the bows a different way or use a different assembly method, feel free to skip these steps.

---

To tie a bow, first cut a piece of ribbon that is 6-9 inches long. The longer the ribbon piece is, the easier the bow is to tie. For best results, use a larger ribbon until you are very comfortable and confident in tying tiny bows.

---

Thread your needle, and thread it through the two or three eyelets used to connect your pieces. Make sure both tails of the ribbon end up on the front side of the pieces this time.

---

When tying a bow, it is very important to make sure the ribbon does not twist at all, so all the parts of the bow lay flat. First simply tie a single knot. Adjust the tails until one is pointing up (we will call this the top tail) and one is pointing down (we will call this the bottom tail). It is also helpful if the top tail is slightly longer than the bottom tail.

---

Fold the bottom tail up to create a small, bottom loop. The bottom tail should fall to the left of the top tail.

---

Then wrap the top tail counter-clockwise around the small, bottom loop. Do not pull it tight.

---

Fold the top tail, so it makes another small loop.

---

Then slide that top small loop behind the bottom small loop, and through the opening that was made when you wrapped the top tail around the bottom loop. This will mean the top small loop will be on the left, and the bottom small loop will be on the right.

---

Pull the loops of the bow to tighten the center knot. Then pull on your tails and loops to adjust the loops to your desired size.

---

Again, apply a small drop of glue on top of the center knot of the bow. Spread it with a paper towel, and allow it to dry completely. Make sure to only use a clear drying glue on the bows. For best results, test the glue on the end of your ribbon to make sure it will not change the color or be visible once dry.

---

After the glue is completely dry, check to make sure the bow feels secure. Then trim the tails to the desired length.

---

Now we will begin the assembly of the gingerbread house. For best results, tie all the knots with both pieces laying flat against each other, and fold the pieces upright after the knots are tied. First, line the bottom edge of the front door piece (file "a") up with the line on the base piece (file "b"). Make sure the back of the front door piece will be facing the hole of the base piece. Also make sure the base piece is front side up. Each ribbon will be going through three eyelets. Use 6 ribbons to tie the two pieces together with double knots that end up against the back side of the front door piece (file "a").

---

Next, take the porch roof piece (file "c"), and match one long side up with the top edge of the front door piece (file "a"). Make sure the back side of the porch roof is against the front side of the front door piece. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Use 5 ribbons to tie the two pieces together with double knots that end up against the back side of the front door piece (file "a").

---

Take the right side piece (file "f"), and match the bottom edge up with the right edge of the base piece (file "b"). Make sure the back side of the right side piece is facing up. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Use 4 ribbons to tie the two pieces together with double knots that end up against the back side of the right side piece (file "f").

---

Fold the right side piece up, and attach it onto the front door piece (file "a") and the porch roof (file "c"). Some ribbons will be going through two eyelets, and some will be going through three eyelets. Use 4 ribbons to tie the right side and front door piece together with double knots that end up against the back side of the front door piece (file "a"). Then use the remaining ribbon to tie just the front corner of the right side and porch roof together with a double knot that ends up on the back side of the right side (file "f").

---

Repeat to attach and fold up the left side of the gingerbread house (file "g") to the opposite sides of the base, front door piece, and porch roof.

---

Take the front of the house (file "d"), and match the bottom edge up with the front edge of the base piece (file "b"). Make sure the back side of the front piece is facing up. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Use 4 ribbons to tie the two pieces together with double knots that end up against the back side of the front piece (file "d").

---

Then fold the front piece up, and attach it to the right and left sides with only the bottom three eyelets on either side. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Use 3 ribbons on each side to tie the three pieces together with bows that end up outside of the house.

---

Finally attach the front piece (file "d") to the porch roof (file "c"). Each ribbon will be going through three eyelets. Use 5 ribbons to tie the two pieces together with double knots that end up against the back side of the front piece (file "d").

---

Take the back of the house (file "e"), and match the bottom edge up with the back edge of the base piece (file "b"). Make sure the back side of the back piece is facing up. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Use 5 ribbons to tie the two pieces together with double knots that end up against the back side of the back piece (file "e").

---

Then fold the back piece up, and attach it to the right and left sides. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Use 4 ribbons on each side to tie the three pieces together with bows that end up outside of the house.

---

To attach the first roof piece, lay the house so it is resting on the front piece (file "d"). Match one short edge of a roof piece (file "h") up with one top edge of the front piece. Make sure the back side of the roof is facing up. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Attach the two pieces together in only the top three eyelets, leaving the bottom eyelet open. Use 3 ribbons to tie the two pieces together with double knots that end up against the back side of the roof piece (file "h").

---

Then repeat to attach the second roof piece to the other top side of the front piece. This time only attach the roof using the center two eyelets.

---

Stand the house back up, and fold the two roof pieces down. Repeat to attach the roof pieces to the back piece. Again make sure the first roof piece is attached using only the top three eyelets, and the second roof piece is attached using only the center two eyelets.

---

Attach the top edges of the two roof pieces together. Each ribbon will be going through two eyelets. Use 4 ribbons to tie the pieces together with bows that end up outside of the house.

---

Then attach the bottom edge of the first roof piece onto the top edge of the adjacent side piece. Each ribbon will pass through two eyelets. The center two ribbons will pass through the eyelets vertically, and the outer two will pass through the eyelets horizontally. Use four ribbons to tie the pieces together with bows that end up outside of the house.

---

Repeat to attach the opposite roof piece to the opposite side.

---

The large round opening in the base of the house is used for placing an electric candle or fairy lights inside. Make sure to only use electric or battery powered lights, and no actual flames as the gingerbread house is flammable.

---

Discover lots of machine embroidery ideas and inspiration on the Embroidery Library Pinterest page. Pin it yourself using the "Pin It" button on this page.

---

Questions or comments? Let us know! Send an email to us; the address is support@emblibrary.com.