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

The Deconstructed Sweater – a cozy and easy winter sweater

09 Dec 2014

FOs, The Self-Made Wardrobe Garments

Giant. Cushy. Cozy. Sweater. What’s not to love? This is currently the only sewn sweater in my self-made wardrobe, and I really hope to change that soon. As much as I love knitting, there is something to be said for a sweater you can make in a morning. I wanted a sweater that was cozy and easy – both while I was making it and when I wear it. So the fabric is a thick, cushy sweater knit, that I turning into a pullover with a giant cowl, and exposed seams. The “pattern” is just 8 rectangles, strategically sewn together. 1 rectangle for the front, 1 for the back, 2 for the sleeves, and 4 rectangles for the yoke/cowl. And the sweater turned out to be exactly what I wanted it to be. Giant. Cushy. Cozy. Easy. The perfect winter sweater. No related posts.

Craving More Sweaters – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 18

05 Dec 2014

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 120 – NOVEMBER 28th Deconstructed Sweater Basic Black Tank Top Khaki Scarf Graphic Silk Circle Skirt Black Tights Black Heels Bead Crochet Bracelet Various Rings This lighting is what happens when I take photos before the sun rises… DAY 121 – NOVEMBER 29th Deconstructed Sweater Basic Black Tank Top Graphic Silk Circle Skirt Grey Tights Black Heels Long Chain Necklace Bead Crochet Bracelet Various Rings …or after the sun sets. I was visiting family for the night, and had to take photos in artificial light, so apologies for the terrible lighting. DAY 122 – NOVEMBER 30th Transitional Weather Sweater (also doubles as a perfect Curling Up On The Couch On A Cold Day Sweater) Basic Black Tank Top Cascading Flowers Skirt Bead Crochet...

a super colorful sweater body

03 Dec 2014

what's in the works

Each Wednesday, I post little snippets about what’s happening, and what I’m working on. Super quick update today, because the only knitting I worked on all week was my crazy colorful sweater. Last week I was at the waist, transitioning my colors, and hoping all of the colors would work together. I think the colors worked out really well together – even though this wasn’t the original plan. Unexpected. In the best possible way. No related posts.

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.