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

my favorite bind off trick. part 1

03 Mar 2014

Tips & Tricks

One of my favorite tricks for creating a bind off that doesn’t break, actually has nothing to do with the bind off itself. My favorite trick is to increase my stitch count right before I bind off. This way my bind off involves more stitches than the main body of my shawl. Because there are more bind off stitches than main body stitches, each bind off stitch has to take up less space than each main body stitch. For A Shawl Knit Flat 1. Finish your pattern, in the photo I just used a basic stockinette swatch. 2. If you’ve ended with a RS row, work a WS row. 3. To increase: work your border stitches, [yo, k1, yo, k2tog] to the opposite border, work your second border stitches. 4. Work a WS row. 5. Bind off. FOR A SHAWL KNIT IN THE ROUND 1. Finish your pattern....

Wafian

28 Feb 2014

Pattern Releases

Wafian is now available for purchase as a download, for $6.00 either on Ravelry, or directly through the blog … buy now Garter stitch and slipped stitches. Harmonious ease. Super simple shaping creates a gentle wave along the edge of this side to side triangle. Garter stitch makes for a relaxing knit. Two slipped stitches at either edge complete the shawl and add a twist of grace. Understated elegance. Divine simplicity. The details: Yarn: 420 yrds (384 m) fingering weight yarn. I used 1 skein of Madelinetosh TML Needles: US 7s (4.5mm) circulars or straights Notions: 2 stitch markers; 1 yarn needle Gauge: 24 sts/ 42 rows to 4 in (10cm) in garter stitch Dimensions: 52 in (132cm) across the top; 13.5 in (34.5cm) at the center back You can get the pattern here. “Wafian” –...

bind offs, pattern writing, samples & swatches

26 Feb 2014

what's in the works, WIP Wednesdays

Through the final stockinette section, and onto the bind off, of the never ending shawl. I’m using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, so it might take a bit. Writing up the patterns for the pile of shawls on my desk. Though the grey & yellow shawl is Izar, and just likes hanging out on my desk. Knitting sample returned. I love getting knitting sample back, because it gives me a chance to fall in love with the piece all over again. This one is the glasses case from Sara Barbour’s “Stitching in the Stacks.” All the swatches! One for a shhhhh (secret) project. One for a shawl to work on once the never ending shawl ends. Some for a new Shawl Geometry Book. And the rest because even after two posts I still have more to say about binding off for shawls. No related posts.

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.