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

it’s almost been too hot to touch wool

29 Jul 2015

what's in the works

Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on. What I’m Working On… : my Giant Black & White Granny Square That Will At Some Point Magically Turn Into A Cardigan, is making excellent mindless crafting. A couple stitches here and there whenever it’s cool enough to touch wool, and I’ve made it to the point where the rounds start to feel like they take forever… but I figure if I keep adding stitches here and there, I’ll have a finished sweater. No related posts.

To Read Over Coffee #6

25 Jul 2015

To Read Over Coffee

A collection of links from the past few weeks that I think are interesting/amusing/educational/insightful enough to read/watch/listen & think about over a cup of coffee. Making I just found Katrina Rodbaugh’s blog and her post on Visible Mending and the Metaphor of Repair was simply lovely. Fashion From Bustle, “5 Muslim Fashion Bloggers You Have To Follow Because Beauty Is Found Far Beyond Western Standards” The University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute Blog has an interesting post on the history of “Imperial Yellow” throughout China’s history. “In the period of Tang Gao zong 唐高宗 (Emperor Gaozong of Tang), it was proposed that chihuang赤黃 (reddish yellow) could only be used by the emperor, because it is the colour of the sun. Just as there cannot be two suns in the sky, there cannot be two emperors in a nation. Thus from then on, yellow was regarded as the costume colour used exclusively...

What happens on Day 366? – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 51

24 Jul 2015

The Self-Made Wardrobe

The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made. It’s a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels – it’s a year about noticing patterns, trying things, and observing what happens. Day 351 – Friday, July 17th black tank top // grey maxi skirt princess necklace // bracelets // rings // flip flops Day 352 – Saturday, July 18th archer button up shirt // black tank top // jeans robot necklace // rings // black flats Day 353 – Sunday, July 19th black tank top // pirate skirt princess necklace // bracelets // rings // sandal wedges Day 354 – Monday, July 20th black tank top // black maxi skirt princess necklace // bracelets // rings // flip flops Day 355 – Tuesday, July 21st black tank top // grey maxi skirt princess necklace // bracelets // rings // flip flops Day 356 –...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.