Modified Susie Hoodie Parts

Last summer I started knitting the Susie Hoodie from Big Girl Knits. I knitted up swatches until I got gauge and then started knitting on the body. I got a good portion of it knitted to the waist when I realized that the gauge was off. So I put it aside because I wasn't ready to frog it. And I had Christmas knitting to start.

I've picked it back up in the last couple of weeks but have decide that I'm only hand knitting the fun part (the cable braid) and then I'm going to use my knitting machine to do the rest. So it isn't really going to be the Susie Hoodie at all but an inspiration of it, especially since I decided to have a collar rather than the hoodie.

Here is what I've knitted so far:

 

These are the cuffs and I plan on putting them on the machine and knitting the rest of the sleeve with it.

Here is one of the button bands (although it won't have buttons):

 

I'm going to knit the back and the two fronts on the machine and then attach the bands after I knit a bottom garter stitch band and top garter stitch collar. I will get to practice the seaming technique I learned in Jean Wong's finishing class a couple of weeks ago at Madrona. This is very timely and has given me the courage to try a project that will require a bit of seaming.

Yesterday I spent some time working out the calculations for the number of rows and stitches I need to use on the machine. I used a favorite cardigan of mine that fits the way I'd like this one to fit for the sizing and Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns to get all the numbers.

I hope to knit the back tonight. I need 96 stitches across and the machine has 100. So I'm glad I'm using a worsted weight yarn (Cascade 220 Superwash) or else I'd have had to bought an extension.