Tell us about you?
I’m Melissa Stramel, the designer behind Lilac Lane Patterns. I create patterns for little girls’ outfits, bags, and some quilts. The theme of Lilac Lane is “Make Life Beautiful” and by that I try to spread beauty through everything I do. My aim is to teach anyone who would like to sew to both learn and love to do it. How did your business name come about?
My business is named after the street I lived on in college at the University of Kansas. '
Tell us about your products and list 3 (which we stock) that are your favourites and why?
My favorite patterns are Beloved because it was created for my girls to wear as flower girls in my niece’s wedding, the Friendship Dress because it’s an updated classic, and the Chasing Rainbows quilt because I love all the color. My designs are entirely inspired by my children and what I think little girls should wear. My style is definitely modest and classic, but with a twist. Where do you find inspiration for new designs? My business has evolved through very nontraditional paths. I love everything floral. I started out creating and selling silk flower arrangements. This led to opening a little store in my town which was a co-op of creative people, such as a soap maker and a candle maker and many others. As the business grew, people asked about sewn items, and I started to make and sell those too. I’ve always sewn, at least since I was three (I have real evidence from that time – a pillow I created for my grandma), so this was an easy thing for me to add. Since I was making up my creations as I went, I thought I should develop them into patterns. I started with the Moda Bake Shop and Riley Blake Cutting Corners and from there began publishing actual patterns.
What does the future hold for you
I have a new series of patterns just released called Learning to Sew. They are very basic, and yet things that the girls want to make.
These patterns assume that the buyer has only a basic knowledge of sewing, such as turning on the machine, threading the needle, winding the bobbin and sewing a straight line and i have just released the Hopscotch Dress
We hope you have enjoyed getting to know Melissa, you can view all her patterns here
Melissa has some great patterns!
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