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

Playing with Shawls

03 Jul 2013

what's in the works, WIP Wednesdays

I’m always working on some project or another, and most weeks I talk about what I’m working on Wednesdays as part of Tami’s WIP Wednesday project. You can see past WIP Wednesdays … right this way. I managed to work on both shawls this week. wheeee! With this shawl, I’m Playing With rhythm, rest rows/working rows ease flow noticing play fun Here, I’m Playing with noticing rest pausing taking breaks paying attention breath But in all seriousness, you would think by this point, considering how many shawls I knit, I’d have figured out a better way to photograph them in their blobular state. But apparently not… If you’d like more WIP Wednesday posts, from other bloggers, visit Tami’s blog. No related posts.

Shawl Geometry: Square with a Diagonal Slit

01 Jul 2013

Shawl Geometry

This is the thirteenth post in a series about different shawl shapes and how to knit them. All the posts in the series can be found right here. Square with a Diagonal Slit from the center out The Square with a Diagonal Slit is a variation on the Square Knit in the Round. Instead of being knit in the round, the Square with a Diagonal Slit is worked flat, with the “slit” splitting one pair of increases (or decreases). This shawl shape sits sort of like a cape. It rests easily on your shoulders and doesn’t slide around. Plus, no need to fold your square in half, hiding part of your pattern. Knitting Instructions CO 11sts. {4 border sts + 4 sections + 3 spines} R1: k2, (pm, yo, k1, yo, pm, k1) 4 times, k1. R2: purl across. R3: k2, (sm, yo, k to marker, yo, sm, k1) 4...

Shawl Geometry: Rectangles

24 Jun 2013

Shawl Geometry

This is the twelfth post in a series about different shawl shapes and how to knit them. All the posts in the series can be found right here. Rectangles Like the Edge to Edge Square, the Basic Rectangle is knit flat and worked straight from cast on edge to bind off edge, with no increasing or decreasing necessary. Basic Rectangle Calculations Calculating your cast on and row count Determine your final gauge, and desired dimensions. [Stitch gauge] x [desired width] = [# of sts to CO] [Row gauge] x [desired length] = [# of rows] Note: you can work your knitting either by casting on at a long end or a short end. Use the measurement of your desired cast on edge as your “width” and your second measurement as your “length.” Knitting Instructions CO [# of sts to CO]. R1: knit across. R2: purl across. Rep R1&2 until [#...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.