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

one month to go – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 48

03 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 330 – Friday, June 26th archer button up shirt // black tank top // black maxi skirt robot necklace // bracelets // rings // flip flops Day 331 – Saturday, June 27th archer button up shirt // black tank top // jeans necklace // bracelets // rings // flip flops Day 332 – Sunday, June 28th easiest vest ever // black tank top // black maxi skirt robot clock necklace // rings // flip flops Day 333 – Monday, June 29th archer button up shirt // black tank top // black maxi skirt pocket watch necklace // various rings // flip flops Day 334 – Tuesday, June 30th blue kimono // black...

a sweater neckline & granny squares

01 Jul 2015

what's in the works

Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on. What I’m Working On… : reworking the neckline of a sweater project – I started this sweater back when it was cold out, and went to work on the sleeves this weekend, only to realize I hated the neckline – so I ripped the old neck, and added a simple rolled stockinette edging. I still need to tighten up the row of blue stitches right underneath it, but so far I’m liking it much better! : granny squares! – while I know how to crochet, I’ve never been a crocheter, and I had never crochet a granny square before. I figured now is as good a time as any to learn, and I have to say… they’re a lot of fun. (like I need another reason for browsing pinterest…) No related posts.

To Read Over Coffee #3

27 Jun 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 (or out in the sunshine). Keeping things short & sweet this week: Most parts of a garment can be altered, the key to shopping and getting clothes to fit, is knowing which parts of the garment those are: “Shop like a seamstress” on xojane. I think we can all appreciate why colorways vary from dye lot to dye lot – but why do colorways vary from base yarn to base yarn? Georgian Bay Fibre Company wrote a whole post about. Serena Garcia Dalla Venezia makes stunning, organic, sewn art pieces. Serious go look at these! A wonderful interview with Cecelia Campochinaro, the author of “Sequence Knitting,” a beautiful book that explores the process of repeating sequences of stitches with marvelous results. “My guiding principles are...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.