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

Photos: Gene Tierney, the divine

18 Jul 2012

FOs, Photo shoots

Originally published in partnership with The Sanguine Gryphon (sadly, no longer in existence) as part of their Film Noir line (hence the name), I knit this sample almost a year ago exactly (I think it was knit in July, but maybe August) mostly while in the Adirondacks. I love the way that the diamonds all fit inside one another and mirror each other, but then if you shift your focus the large diamonds become Xs and the focus is driven to the points where the lines cross instead of separate. The pattern was just re-released about a week ago, along with the patterns for Zodiac le Plume and Parterre Garden, in case you missed it and are interested. Ravelry Project Page No related posts.

Dragons Ruff

17 Jul 2012

Pattern Releases

Dragons Ruff is now available for purchase as a download, for $6.00 either on Ravelry, or directly through the blog … buy now Inspired by the ruff many dragons are depicted with, this shawl consists of a background of garter stitch mesh interspersed with strips of stockinette that add depth. It’s finished off with a deep garter stitch border that grounds the entire piece. Knit in one piece from the top down, this shawl begins by casting on 9 stitches at the back of the neck and increasing 7 stitches every other row to shape this shawl into 7/8ths of a circle that stays draped elegantly over the shoulders. Finally, an eyelet-increase row is worked just before the garter stitch border, and just before the bind off to ensure that a thorough blocking is possible. Yarn: Madelinetosh ‘tosh lace,’ 950 yards (968 meters), 100% superwash merino, 1 skein, shown in...

Lots of Travel Time

16 Jul 2012

General Stuffs

Means lots of knitting time. I finally bound off this shawl. That tiny ball of yarn lasted, but the tail you can see is all that is left. It certainly got a little nerve wracking towards the end. I’m going to try and get it blocked this week, and start writing up the pattern. And because decreasing the total number of works in progress I have on the needles would just be silly, I cast on another shawl. This pattern is part of this project, I’m still working on getting the written portion worked out, but the overall idea is beginning to take shape. The project getting the most of my attention has been this one (I’m thinking of calling it Lyla or Lylia but haven’t decided yet). Lots of hours in the car, a bunch of hours on airplanes, and a couple hours sitting in airports turned into a...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.