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

Everything takes longer than I think it will. (Including writing this post).

29 Jun 2016

what's in the works

Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on, and where my brain is at. Books. Sweater. Dress. Books. Sweater Dress. This continues to be the rhythm of my week – at least in my “not working on projects for other people time.” And while there’s been more book editing progress than knitting or sewing progress. I have managed to sneak in time here and there to further my summery wardrobe infusion plans. The editing is going – but I kind of underestimated exactly how much I had added, and how many pages there were to edit. So I just have to laugh every time I think about my original timeline for this project. But! This project is moving forward, just far slower than I had anticipated. Which, is also a statement that could easily be applied to my summery wardrobe infusion as well. Because everything takes longer...

Crafty rhythm – some weeks I work on all the projects

22 Jun 2016

what's in the works

Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on, and where my brain is at. So many projects, so little time. Part of what I love about taking stock of what I’m working on each Wednesday (other than the ritual of spending time in my digital home each week) is the opportunity to illuminate some of my crafting habits. Some weeks I work on one project, and one project only. Complete focus. Some weeks I work on two projects. Flipping back and forth between the two. Some weeks I work on no projects. Trusting that rest is part of the creative process. And some weeks I work on all the projects. Trusting that small steps are still steps. This was a week of all the projects. With a not-small amount of progress on each project. I’m deep in the throws of the editing the Shawl Geometry Books Update....

Mended: black Uniqlo jeans mended with Sashiko stitching

20 Jun 2016

Flourishing Wardrobes, FOs

If you sew, or knit, or otherwise craft, you know that requests for “favors” – mostly that start with “can you make…” or “can you fix…” – are not uncommon. Every crafter responds differently, and my general rule of thumb is “no to makes. yes to mends.” As gifts? I make things. As commissions and for work? I make things. As favors? Generally not. The flip side of this being, if someone asks mend something, or fix something. I’ll almost always say yes. Usually they’re not time consuming or complicated fixes, so I’m happy to. The one general exception to my “yea sure I’ll fix it for you” response being jeans. Will I hem your jeans? Sure. Will I fix a hole in your jeans? No. Why? Because mending jeans is not so simple. As a general rule of them, denim is an incredibly durable fabric. Of course some denim...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.