Fairy Tale Magic - Toy Story
Costume and Photography: Lacresha Lincoln
Toy Story
“To Infinity and Beyond!!!”
Toy Story is a series of movies that explores adventure and imagination throughout childhood. The movies depict a secret life of toys that magically come to life when people are not around. The plot revolves around the idea that a child's imagination is the catalyst that makes the toys come alive.
We instantly knew Lacresha was the right person to create this stylish look. Her ingenuity combined with her bold and beautiful approach to sewing is a constant source of inspiration to our sewing community. Growing up, Lacresha said she never felt as if she belonged or fit in with her peers. “As a mother raising my children, I have realized that it is better to stand out than conform to a space that is too small for you.”
Lacresha uses her creativity to express her individuality and really brought something special to Fairy Tale Magic in her recreation of Jessie from Toy Story. The first thing this thoughtful and creative designer did was research the character. Lacresha saw the yodeling cowgirl as a high-spirited sidekick who loved horses, her favorite riding jeans, her hat and her pals. But Jessie also had a soft, warm, and girly side, which can be seen in the blouse she wore and how she treated the friends around her. Lacresha saw this full-of-life character as the perfect combination of sugar and spice, so she wanted to present Jessie’s costume in the same manner.
The Cambridge pants pattern was a natural starting point for Jessie’s jeans. This pattern was perfect because it is a skinny-pants pattern with a faux-fly and front and back pocket options. Lacresha needed all of these to replicate Jessie’s jeans. On the front pants pattern piece, she cut the pattern at the upper thigh and retraced the two separate pieces adding ½” seam allowance at the cut.
To create the chaps for our rough-and-tumble character, Lacresha took the front bottom pants piece, retraced it for the chaps and rounded the bottom corners using a flat, round washer. From here, she cut the chaps from faux cowhide, attached the piping, and added fringe to the bottom. She basted the top edge of the chaps and bottom front jean pieces together and reattached them to the upper front pieces.
Note: When attaching front and back pant pieces, make sure to move the chaps out of the way.
To create the blouse, she used the Day Dreamer pattern. Lacresha always incorporates great attention to detail in all of her makes, and this project is no exception with the red cording, perfectly color blocked front, piping and fringe. The final result was a perfect mimic of Jessie’s shirt.
To finish the look, this talented designer purchased a red cowboy hat and added a white leather twine trim to the brim. The final pieces purchased were cowboy boots and a belt with a big bull-head buckle.
Now Lacresha’s daughter, a.k.a. Jessie, is ready for anything!
Creating costumes is far more than just a night of trick-or-treating and candy at Halloween. Costuming is a conduit to a child’s imagination and sewing allows us this opportunity to take them “to infinity and beyond.”
This powerful motto serves as a constant reminder that our children are capable of anything they set their minds to. It means there are unlimited possibilities - and that they can do more than anyone ever thought possible.
We all should aspire to dream big.
“To infinity and beyond!”
