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

Wrapping up 2014 & Starting 2015 – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 22

02 Jan 2015

The Self-Made Wardrobe

The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made. It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels. DAY 148 – DECEMBER 26th Blue & Green Archer Button Up Shirt Black Scarf Basic Black Tank Top Graphic Silk Circle Skirt Black Tights Black Heels Various Rings The trip back from the parent’s house after Christmas, called for a comfy, cozy, put-together outfit, plus heels. DAY 149 – DECEMBER 27th Hand-Knit Sweater Dress Basic Black Tank Top Black Leggings Various Rings I really hope no one minds if I basically live in this dress + leggings for the rest of the winter, because they’re the perfect combination for cold days in front of the computer. DAY 150 – DECEMBER 28th Boring Black Sweater Basic Black Tank Top Birds & Wheels Flare Skirt Black Leggings Long Necklace Various Rings I haven’t worn this skirt...

When I focus on one knitting project at a time, it shows.

31 Dec 2014

what's in the works

Each Wednesday, I post little snippets about what’s happening, and what I’m working on. A quick post again this week. I only took one knitting project with me when I was traveling for Christmas, and when I focus on one knitting project at a time – it shows. I managed to finish the body of my handspun sweater the other day, even though I was only a couple inches into the yoke last week. I’ll maybe start the sleeves tonight, but more likely tomorrow or Friday. And that’s it! This is the last post of 2014, hope you have a fantastic New Years, and I’ll be back Friday for the first post of 2015, and Week 22 of the self-made wardrobe. Happy New Years!!! No related posts.

I said I wasn’t going to make anyone Christmas gifts this year…

29 Dec 2014

FOs

“I’m not going to make any Christmas gifts this year.” I say this every year. And every year, one week before Christmas, I start making gifts. Every single year. This year was no exception. I figured embroidery would be faster than knitting. Right? HA! I started these Wednesday, December 17th, finished them Wednesday, December 24th, and I’m very thankful it’s only the nuclear family for Christmas. I wanted to experiment with something new (always a great idea on a deadline – not so much) and dove into the world of blackwork embroidery. Very simply, blackwork embroidery is a style of embroidery that used black thread against a white or ivory background. This creates a high contrast between the fabric & the stitching. The designs are generally geometric (yes please!), and use small repetitive “fill stitches” to fill in areas and create the design. Blackwork embroidery was popular in England in...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.