When Jayla Lyons stepped on stage in 2025 to compete for the “Little Miss Indy Juneteenth” title, she was determined to leave with a crown.
She again vied for the tiara with pearls draped down her sides, sequins shimmering in the stage light and seven Black women who shaped history appliquéd to the front of her skirt.
While Lyons, 13, didn’t win, she took home the Ruby Bridges award for community service for the second year in a row. But people took notice — her intricately designed dress was a creation of her own, hand-crafted in the sewing studio she shares with her mom. Twjonia Webb, co-founder of Indy Juneteenth with her husband, James Webb, was determined to give her more time in the spotlight.
“It was just breathtaking how beautiful and creative it was,” Webb said. “I told her mom … ‘I’m going to make sure that we get to see this more than just in this space.’”
This year, Lyons’ dress became the first from the Little Miss Indy Juneteenth pageant displayed at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, a tradition previously reserved for the adult winner of the title Miss Indy Juneteenth.
“I was ecstatic,” Lyons said. “It looks so good.”
For Webb, the pageant is about more than a crown. Participants begin with interviews, then take part in workshops on Juneteenth history and discussions about healing, empowerment and respect. They complete community service together, and girls like Lyons are recognized for going the extra mile.
The first year Lyons competed, she shyly stepped into the first meeting in a pink sweater she made, nudged along by her mom urging her to speak up, as Webb recalled.
“To see how much she’s grown from that moment to now … how much confidence she has gained over the years has really been inspiring to see,” Webb said. “It gives me the motivation to continue to do what I’m doing because, through this pageant, it really has built self-esteem.”
Since she was a toddler, Lyons has sewed with her mother, Jocelynn Porter, pressing buttons on the sewing machine, then pinning fabric and eventually mastering more advanced techniques. Now she cuts patterns and sews prom dresses for Porter’s business, She Tutucute Creations.
“Most people have seen her work already, so they’re like, ‘Girl, move out of the way. Let your daughter do it,’” Porter said. “I’ve had a few people actually request her over me. That’s perfect for me because I’m like, OK, they’re really seeing her, and they’re like, ‘Mom, I want you to guide her, but let her do it. I want to see what she’s got.’”
The Little Miss Indy Juneteenth pageant wasn’t Lyons’ first experience on stage. When Lyons was old enough to walk, Porter started designing outfits for her and her cousin to join fashion shows and pageants, traveling north to Chicago since they lived in Gary at the time.
After moving to Indianapolis, they continued growing their business, creating custom pieces ranging from dresses and tuxedos to bow ties and home goods.
“My mom got me into sewing because she created things for me to wear,” Lyons said.
While Lyons works, Porter hovers in the corner of the sewing studio, pointing out directions here and there.
“I just tell myself, ‘Stop, let her do it, she has to learn,’” Porter said. “I always want to make sure it’s still her vision. That’s the biggest thing for me. I don’t want to take something that she has worked for and has her heart and mind set on and then make it be something that she doesn’t want to do.”
Porter made custom shoes, tutus and lunchboxes for Lyons throughout the years. Now that Lyons is older she makes crafts for her mom like roses made from ribbon as a Mother’s Day gift.
Lyons attended the annual Juneteenth Jamboree at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis earlier this month, along with dozens of family members and friends who gathered for selfies with her next to the dress. They cheered her on from the front row as she performed with her step dance team, G3 Steppers, which stands for “Girls Growing into Greatness.”
“It’s fun the way you get to express your feelings … through sewing and step, because you can show your creation and, in your dances, through your face,” Lyons said.
Webb hopes the girls in her pageant form friendships that go beyond the spotlight. She has seen girls in her pageant work through challenges like bullying and insecurities through the friendships they formed along the way.
“The whole process is really empowering — creating a space where they can build a sisterhood and teaching them how to love themselves and one another,” Webb said.
When Webb came to see Jayla’s dress at the Juneteenth Jamboree, Lyons ran right up to her, greeting her with a beaming smile and a big hug.
“It was cool in the last week [of the pageant] to see her sort of express herself in the sewing,” Webb said. “I’m like, ‘Listen, that is an amazing skill to have. You use that and you show that off, because everybody doesn’t have that skill.’”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Meet the 13-year-old dress maker featured at Children’s Museum in Indy
Reporting by Cara Penquite, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cara Penquite, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
