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

Finished: Black & White Vine Print Skirt

19 May 2015

FOs, The Self-Made Wardrobe Garments

I’ve always loved an elastic waist skirt that doesn’t look bulky, or frumpy, or lazy, and I think this skirt fits that bill perfectly. MATERIALS – About 3 yards of a very light weight, slightly translucent fabric. (The fabric was actually a pair of curtains that a friend was getting rid of, and so this skirt came into being all Scarlett O’Hara like.) – Black thread – 1” elastic PATTERN This is a pretty basic circle skirt with a handkerchief hem, and an elastic waistband. My graphic silk circle skirt was this same style, and I love this basic recipe for it’s ease & simplicity. For this skirt, I cut three layers, and layered them so that the points at the hem are offset. Then I added a waistband, and hemmed miles of hem. WHAT WORKED WELL I love the cut. I love the fullness. And I adore the fact...

The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 41

15 May 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 281 – Friday, May 8th archer button up shirt // black tank top // jeans black scarf // bead crochet bracelets // rings // wedge sandals Day 282 – Saturday, May 9th 2nd purple pullover // black tank top // black maxi skirt robot necklace // various rings // black flats Day 283 – Sunday, May 10th archer button up shirt // black tank top // jeans robot necklace // bead crochet bracelets // rings // black flats Day 284 – Monday, May 11th archer button up // black tank top // black & white vine skirt pocket watch necklace // bead crochet bracelets // rings // black flats Day 285 –...

beading bangles and sewing tank tops

13 May 2015

what's in the works

Each Wednesday, I take stock of the projects I’m working on. What I’m Working on… : crocheting & finishing the bead crochet bangles I started last week. : sewing new tank tops because spring is absolutely here. yay! : writing & editing & scheduling posts about the backlog of finished projects that have sprung up around here. (I guess there are far worse problems to have.) No related posts.

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.