Holly Chayes

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.

This online space has been around in one form or another since 2010, it focuses on making, creativity and living a curious life, plus a lot of clothing.

Some of the projects I've worked on in the past 10+ years include...

Talking About Clothes with Holly Chayes

An interview podcast that's all about clothing (and also, not *really* about clothing at all). Find all the details and listen to conversations about comfort, style, change and shopping here. Or search for Talking About Clothes with Holly Chayes wherever you listen to podcasts.

Who Wears Who?

The Self-Made Wardrobe Project

Predecessor to Who Wears Who, a year-long challenge in 2014/2015 where I only wore clothes I made. That year would have been a lot easier if the clothes had magically made themselves. Learn more about The Self-Made Wardrobe Project and explore the archives here.

The Shawl Geometry Book Series

Enough shawl shapes to keep you knitting for a lifetime. A multi-year exploration of math, shape and space in knitting, where I documented traditional shawl shaping, and iterated on those traditions to create new recipes of shawl shaping. Ultimately this lead to 75+ shapes, and 400+ pages of common and uncommon shawl shaping instructions. This project was inspired by a dozen individual shawl designs, each encapsulating a love of geometric lace design. You can find The Shawl Geometry Series here.

Thank you for being here with me. –Holly

the current view

25 Jun 2014

what's in the works

Been sick with some sort of stomach thing, so there hasn’t been much except sleeping, doctor visits, and other unpleasantness. I have managed to get a tiny bit of knitting done though, mostly more swatches. Want some pretty to brighten up your Wednesday? Why now browse through the knitting patterns. No related posts.

a vase of flowers, and basket of zippers

18 Jun 2014

what's in the works

Working away on The Self-Made Wardrobe. Day 17 was the first of many little black dresses. A pile of yarn, became a pile of swatches, turned into a row of mounted swatches. And more yarn came for more swatches. The sweater has gained sleeves. And a vase of flowers, and basket of zippers is gracing my coffee table. PS. The Shawl Geometry books are now available as a bundle, if you’d like to buy all three at once. (Of course they’re still available individually if you just want one or two.) No related posts.

The Moment of Wow…

16 Jun 2014

thoughts & things

The moment when you get to step back and look at what you’ve made with completely fresh eyes. The moment you finish pinning out a shawl, and can actually see what you’ve made for the first time. The moment you unpin a shawl and pick it up and it floats along after you. The moment you finish a new garment, and put it on, and look in the mirror, and see yourself in a totally new way. That’s why I knit. That’s why I sew. That’s why I make things. Yes, I create because (for me) it’s almost more natural than breathing. But I finish things for that moment of “wow.” I’m addicted to beauty. I’m addicted to stunning. I’m addicted to jaw-dropping-wow. And if I can create something that’s beautiful/stunning/wow-worthy… It makes the last agonizingly long rounds of a shawl worth it. No related posts.

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.