Meet Skylar Raiyn Johnson, an accomplished seamstress from Gainesville, Virginia with her sights set on sewing for Beyoncé. Oh, by the way, she's still in sixth grade.
This “Sew Fly Sky” design by Skylar Raiyn was created for the ‘Make It In Wool, Virginia!’ competition.
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
Skylar Raiyn cuts the panels for her “Sew Fly Sky” designs a little over-sized because she said you always can make them smaller later.
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
“There’s a lot of mathematics involved in getting design measurement’s correct,” Skylar said. Math is her favorite subject in school.
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
Wearing a “Sew Fly Sky” design by Skylar Raiyn, Chair of the Loudoun County Supervisors Phyllis Randall requested the outfit for her State Of The County Address in April of 2018. Skylar also is wearing a “Sew Fly Sky” creation.
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
“That is such a big honor,” Skylar said of being asked to create an outfit for the State Of The County Address for Loudoun County Supervisors chair Phyllis Randall. “I’m very grateful that she thought of me to make her outfit.”
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
This outfit was part of Skylar Raiyn’s first “Sew Fly Sky” fashion show that occurred at George Mason University.
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
“I just want to be a designer,” Skylar said. “And, send my designs off to people to recreate the outfit.”
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
Both these outfits are “Sew Fly Sky” designs by Skylar Raiyn Johnson. Posing with Kristina Bouweiri, the owner of Reston Limousine, Sklyar created the dress for the Sterling Women 10th Anniversary Luncheon in August.
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
Courtesy Danyel Trammell
“The person that I want to make an outfit for that I look up to is Beyonce,” Skylar said. “She’s one of my dream clients.”
(Courtesy Danyel Trammell)
WASHINGTON — An accomplished sixth-grade seamstress from Gainesville, Virginia has been sewing since she was 8-years-old — and now Skylar Raiyn Johnson has her sights set on Beyoncé.
“She’s one of my dream clients,” Johnson said of the pop star.
High profile clients are nothing new to the Founder and CEO of Fly Sky Sew, who designed the outfit worn by Loudoun County Chair of the Board of Supervisors Phyllis Randall during the State Of The County Address in April.
“I’m very grateful,” Johnson said of the experience. “Because that is such a big honor.”
Skylar’s favorite subject in school and extracurricular interests compliment her passion for design. She likes math and art, which helps when you’re measuring material and cutting into shape a vision put down on paper after “seeing” it in the back of your head.
“I like to do sketches and do a lot of paining,” she said.
The hardest part? “Probably, getting the measurements right and making sure you don’t mess up. Because for some things, if you mess up then you have to start over.”
The young designer’s mom, Danyel Trammell, said Johnson doesn’t let her experiences go to her head.
“She’s just Skylar,” Trammell said. “The fame, or what is coming of it, is not what her focus is. Her focus is sharing her gift and inspiring other people.”
“She’s a humble girl,” Trammel added. “That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Johnson said she just likes seeing people in her designs.
“It’s just amazing that something that started out as a piece of cloth — and now, someone is wearing that!”
So what’s next? Johnson said a manufacturer is working to produce the wool outfit she created to win this fall’s “Make It In Wool, Virginia!” competition.
And, of course, you never know when Beyoncé might call.
Kristi King is a veteran reporter who has been working in the WTOP newsroom since 1990. She covers everything from breaking news to consumer concerns and the latest medical developments.
