Cabled Hoodie, finally!

So I finally finished the cabled hoodie for Em.

I was a bit surprised to see on Ravelry that this project only took from June 1 until July 26. It felt like it had been hanging around here forever!

Specs:
Pattern: Sirdar 8427, Cabled Jacket
Yarn: Cleckheaton Country Silk DK, 14 balls.
Needles: 3.25 and 3.5mm Knitpicks Options
Mods: Many, many modifications!

The pattern is written to be knit in the traditional way - Back, two fronts, two sleeves, then all seamed up before you knit the hood and the bands.
I managed to knit the whole thing so that the only time I needed to pull out a sewing needle was to graft the underarms and weave in ends.
To start with, I knit the back and both front as one piece to the armholes. I then set the body aside and knit the two sleeves at once on two circs, also up to the armholes. I then left all the underarm stitches live, and worked the sleeves and body in one piece to the neck. The pattern has different rates of decrease for the fronts, sleeves and back, so I had to work it all out and write it down before I started.
Once I got up to the neck, I didn't cast off then pick up stitches for the hood, I just used the stitches I had and kept going. But to prevent the neck and hood from stretching out, I used a rochet stabilising seam across the neckline to keep it all in place, which I'd read about here on the Yarn Harlot's blog.

The pattern shapes the hood by casting off a number of stitches on each side, and knitting a strip down the middle and seaming the sides to the strip. I'm too lazy for that, so I just did short rows on the strip until the side stitches had all been incorporated.

To do the bands I picked up the stitches on the left band, then cast them off, using the same yarn to continue across the neck, picking up 5 stitches for the edges of the hood band, then doing the crochet stabilising seam across the neckline to the other side, then picking up five stitches for the other side of the hood band, and finally completing the right band.

Finally, I picked up stitches around the hood for the band. As I did each row, I did a K2tog at the end to incorporate the live stitches, and to save me having to sew it down at the end!

I used kitchener to graft the live underarm stitches closed.

Then the fun part (not!), the zip. I pinned it in first.

Then I tacked it in by hand.

I'm far too lazy (I think that's been pretty much established by now!) to sew it in properly by hand, so I ran it through the machine to finish it.
All in all, she must be happy with it, she's worn it for three days running now.

I know that some people don't like hoods shaped this way, but I prefer this one to the pointy ones, and Em does too.
Overall, it was a great pattern and I could see myself using it again, with the modifications.
The yarn, not so much. The silk in the Country Silk is there in the form of slubs. Most of the time they're fine, but every now and then you get a huge ugly slub. I picked them out, because I didn't like them. And I don't know if it's just this colour, but I think it tends to look a little bit ball-y and worn before it's even finished. I have used the yarn before, in a different colour, and it didn't seem so bad then. It might not be just me though, because I see that Cleckheaton has discontinued this colour.

Overall I'm pretty happy with it, and Em seems to be enjoying it. She's even been wearing it!