Family Picture Looks with Maggie White

September 29, 2022 1 Comment

Hello! My name is Maggie and I'm so excited to be here! Today I'm going to share how I used Raspberry Creek Fabrics to coordinate outfits for family pictures. When I began planning our outfits, I started with myself. I was testing a new pattern for a nursing dress and was hopeful it would be flattering on my postpartum body. I scoured the fall line to find a print from the double brushed polyester and rib collection that would work well with the dress. The ditsy florals catch my eye every release and these fall florals were no exception! Once I narrowed it down to those three prints, I took a closer look at each listing to see what specific colors were included in each. Raspberry Creek is awesome at posting specific colors in their Club lines so you can coordinate with confidence and know that the fabrics will go well together. Since we were having our photos taken in fall, I gravitated towards the Cream, Plum, Mustard and Dusty Blue in rib. That print with the nursing dress from Sew with Stephanie were a perfect match!

With those colors in mind, I began perusing the site via the search feature. I was searching for a solid coordinate so I typed in 'mustard solid' and saw quite a few options. Since I grabbed the rib base for myself, I wanted to try something new for my girls. I have been intimidated to try the organic double gauze based on reading other people's experiences but also intrigued by the soft and cushy descriptions. I used some tips found in the RCF blog archives that made my first time sewing double gauze a breeze. The blog is located under the helpful resources tab and includes a search feature as well. I typed in ‘double gauze’ and found some recent posts. I got great tips from Anshu and also Kristin.

Tips I found helpful:

• Before washing, serge the cut ends so it does not fray everywhere.

• Don't press directly on the fabric, you'll lose the texture. If you must use a cool setting and a press cloth.
• Try to avoid cutting on the fold and use weights (or if your pieces are small enough like mine were, just use your hand and cut very slowly)
• Sew slowly as the fabric might move or slip.

With the fabric ordered, I needed to settle on what patterns to use for my three daughters. I decided to pick different patterns that would compliment each.

For the newborn, I wanted to find a romper that could be layered up or down since September is a 4 seasons month in Wisconsin (where you can very well experience all four seasons in one day!) Little Lizard King is my go to for wovens and the Tekapo Baby was a sweet pick. I paired the romper with some footie tights and a bow headband made from the same rib as my dress.

My 4 year old likes dresses and frills so she got a Roanoke with short puff sleeves. Those sleeves were the trickiest part of working with the double gauze but were totally worth it in the end…. As I had been finishing the sleeve with my serger, a chunk got caught and serged in. After I had carefully pulled the serged seam out, I realized it left a trail of holes on the sleeve- right up front of course. I found a tip that for loose wovens you can drag your nail over the holes and scrape the weave so it pulls back and the holes disappear. Thankfully, it worked. To coordinate her, I added a little tie bow cut from the ditsy floral rib to clip in her hair.

My potty training two-year-old got a tunic/ leggings combo, again using the rib from my dress to make her leggings. The Lorne dress comes together so quickly with the sweetest results. I opted to not sew pintucks after pressing a small spot and realizing that erased all the texture of the double gauze - thank goodness I tested that on a scrap!

Finally, for my husband we went closet shopping and found a ready to wear flannel that was a perfect match with the plum color from the ditsy floral.

Here's a few of our favorite shots in our coordinating Raspberry Creek Fabric creations. I hope you find a print or two that speaks to you and inspires a gorgeous look for the whole family for your next family photoshoot, even if that means stepping out of your comfort zone and trying out a new-to-you fabric base!

Another shout out for the rib, it moves perfectly when double layered to nurse and remain modest. I was nursing our 5 week old in this picture.

1 Response

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Also in Raspberry Creek Fabrics Blog