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 Blue Kimono – one of the first pieces I made for the self-made wardrobe

21 Oct 2014

FOs, Projects, The Self-Made Wardrobe Garments

This blue kimono was one of the first things I made specifically for the self-made wardrobe project. It’s one of the pieces I wear most often, and it’s definitely one of the pieces I get complimented on the most. The fabric is a sheer navy (probably polyester), with embroidered squares that have been glued on, sort of a “novelty chiffon.” It was a complete impulse purchase from A&K Fabrics, and cost pretty close to nothing. 2 yards of fabric got cut up into 6 rectangles, and 5 of those rectangles turned into a kimono. The pattern is my own, but I’m not really sure it could be called a pattern. I laid out the fabric and portioned it out into 6 rectangles. 2 front pieces, 1 back piece, 2 sleeves, and 1 neckband (which didn’t get used, and which isn’t in the photo.) The fronts are approximately half the width...

The Self-Made Wardrobe Month 2

20 Oct 2014

The Self-Made Wardrobe

A checked-in with the experiment of getting dressed without clothing labels. How Often Did I wear What? Black tank top: 29 days Black maxi skirt with a slit: 8 days Graphic Silk Circle Skirt: 8 days The easiest jersey vest ever: 8 days Cascading flowers maxi skirt: 6 days Red & white striped pirate skirt: 4 days Blue kimono: 3 days The birds & bicycle flare skirt: 2 days Moonstruck sweater: 1 day Jersey wrap dress: 1 day Gingham skirt: 1 day Why Did I Wear What When I Did? Black tank top – my default always. I have a couple of them that I rotate. Next I think I’m going to try perfecting a camisole. Black maxi skirt with a slit – I always feel a little lost for what to say about this skirt. It’s a black maxi skirt with a slit. It’s easy to wear, it was...

The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 11 – mystery patterns & shrinking sweaters

17 Oct 2014

The Self-Made Wardrobe

The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made, for one year. Sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without labels. You can read more about the project, and catch up on past posts, here. I’m trying something different this week, more of a diary-style-type post. We’ll see how it goes… DAY 71 – October 10th Blue Kimono Black Racer-back Tank Top Black Maxi Skirt Black Flats Long Necklace Various Rings I’ve completely lost track of how many times I’ve worn this outfit. It’s easy to put on, and easy to wear, and easy to run around in. Win-Win-Win. DAY 72 – October 11th Knitted Dress Black Racer-back Tank Top White Maxi Skirt Black Flats Various Rings Trying something different with the photographs. While it takes more time to set up, I like the results a lot better, so I’ll probably be sticking to...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.