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

Rhinebeck Haul

19 Oct 2011

General Stuffs

But first, the Rinebeck sweater that wasn’t. This is what the sweater looked like last Wednesday evening. Then, it was an almost complete sweater. It would have been completely possible to finish the hem, the sleeves, neck, and add a zipper by Saturday, a lot of work, but still possible. But then I realized I wouldn’t have a chance to get the zipper by Saturday. I know I could have finished the sweater, and closed it with a shawl pin for the day, but then the waist was a bit wonky, and I probably should have ended the decreases a few rounds earlier, and it ended up kind of longer than expected, and if I wasn’t pushing to finish the sweater for Saturday, then well… If you look carefully at the photo, you’ll see there are no needles in the sweater. Now, it looks exactly like it did two weeks...

Gene Tierney, the Divine

14 Oct 2011

Pattern Releases

July 12, 2012 update: “Gene Tierney, the Divine” was originally part of The Sanguine Gryphon’s Fall 2011 “Film Noir” pattern collection, and is now available directly from the designer (me!). The pattern is now available for purchase as a download for $8.00, either on Ravelry, or directly through the blog … buy now Whether in night dress or an evening gown, every woman needs diamonds to distract from her scheming. Well, this shawl has diamonds aplenty. Enough, I would reckon, to conceal the conspiracies of one plot, or maybe twenty. Then perhaps, just perhaps, an X will mark the spot where the murderous heart skips a beat. Knit in two halves then grafted together in the middle, this shawl easily flows across and off the shoulders. A wide garter stitch border surrounds the stockinette central motifs, providing an elegant and effortless frame for an elegant and effortless piece. Yarn: The...

Oh dear…

03 Oct 2011

General Stuffs, Playing Catch Up

…it’s been a month again since I last posted, and I’m sorry to say that sporadic updates are going to be the norm for a while (if they ever weren’t the norm). Mostly because the distinct lack of free time since I got back to school has meant that knitting time has been scarce and time to even think about blogging has been even scarcer. Anyway, lets jump into the knitting update. Some of my swatches and yarn from the last post have moved onto WIPs in varying states of completeness. First up the mittens, first one’s almost one. While I really loved the first green & blue pair (FO post about those coming soon, I finally washed them), I’m absolutely in love with this pair. I think the blue & black really make the pattern pop, they fit better into my everyday wardrobe, and I’m much happier with my...

Welcome! I'm Holly Chayes.