Me and my Rogue

In my ravelry queue for over a year, and on the needles for 5 weeks, I'm done!

I got this Rogue Hoodie off to a great start this past winter. Nineteen page pattern from Jenna Wilson, it is a detailed and well written pattern. No wonder it is rated five stars by reviewers on rav. The pattern pages were a bit unwieldy to haul around in my knitting bag, but worth every effort. Ta da!



The pocket is knit in as you go along, which I really liked, not having to go back to sew it on.



I made the body length longer by adding an extra cable repeat, as the designer suggested. After I finished the sweater, I was still not quite happy with the length so I left the 1x1 ribbed hem down instead of turning it up. Even with the turning row showing, I think it still works! The side shaping in cables I thought was rather clever.



I used a three needle bind off for the shoulder seams.

The Celtic cables I am crazy about, I love them! (seven charts of cables to follow, oh my). When working the hood foundation row, do not forget there are three wrapped stitches that must be worked within the left and right cable sections! I had put the project down for awhile and then had to deal with this after the fact. Not pleasant, but all fixed up :o)





For the hood finishing, I was unsure about how to graft both purl and knit stitches, but found a tutorial here which was quite helpful.



For sewing the hood to the cabled border, I picked up the same number of stitches on the border as on the hood (19), and grafted them together.



I wore the sweater around the house, in vest form, while working on the sleeves. I adapted the sleeve pattern to knit them in the round, so I worked two less stitches (to compensate for seam allowance) up the sleeve. I also knit the sleeve hem just 8 rows instead of 12 to reduce bulk. Besides the hood finishing, the only sewing was setting in the sleeves to the body. Totally manageable! But then again, I like sewing.

As for the yarn, well, wow, it was my first time with DIC Classy. I think we now have a "thing" going, I so enjoyed knitting with it. This colourway is called Grey Tabby, it makes me feel warm and cosy just imagining a furry kitty. This is a superwash yarn, a good choice, I think, for a hoodie. I did not encounter any knots in any skeins, either. However, as with hand dyed semi solids I've used in the past, I ran into problems with colour varigation differences, and I didn't think I could live with it. Only with one ball, though, so I just went out and bought another one! Not without discussing at great length with knitters at work, knitters at the LYS, family members.... anyone who would listen, really. All is good! Thank you, you know who you are ;o)



After blocking, the yarn easily went back into shape. I just know this will be a high use sweater.
Love my rogue.