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?

A personal style coaching and content practice devoted to helping you own and wear your clothes intentionally, instead of being worn by them. Discover your own style guidance, and learn more about the practice of intentional style at WhoWearsWho.com

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

Sometimes you need a project you can just start NOW.

Sometimes you need a super simple straightforward, easy, non-thinking project. No planning needed. No designing required. No counting. No math. Just starting and making. Often, starting a project with no planning is a recipe for disaster. It’s generally how you get ill-fitting sweaters, cockeyed shelving units, uneatable meals. Planning is super important for creating a usable finished object – it’s why swatching is important, and so is math. However, sometimes you need a project you can just start now, without going through the thinking, or the planning, or the calculating. For me, spinning fills that need. I don’t often spin yarn with a knitting project in mind. My handspun & hand knit sweater being the exception. I don’t often spin complicated yarns. No art yarns, no intricately planned color sequences, or time consuming fiber prep – they’re not my thing. I like my spinning projects pretty damn straightforward. I start...
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I guess writing down goals really does work… The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 32

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 218 – Friday, March 6th purple sweater // black tank // black maxi skirt // bead crochet bracelets black scarf // black tights // brown boots // various rings Day 219 – Saturday, March 7th archer button up shirt // black tank top // cascading flowers skirt bead crochet bracelets // various rings Day 220 – Sunday, March 8th purple sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt bead crochet bracelets // various rings // black tights // brown boots Day 221 – Monday, March 9th archer button up shirt // black tank // black maxi // bead crochet bracelets black scarf // black tights // brown boots // various...
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around here there’s been…

Each Wednesday, I post little snippets about the projects I’m working on. : knitting – I finished the neckline of my purple sweater. And then ripped it out and finished it again. And then ripped it out and finished it yet again. : spinning – I started spinning a yak/merino blend of fiber. : sewing – I started sewing my first pair of jeans!!! No related posts.