Blocked, Zippered and Ready to go

A mere ten months later, I have finally finished the white sweater!
Pattern: Bomber Jacket from Rowan's Denim People
Yarn: I substituted Cascade Sierra in off white (#03) for the Rowan Denim



After knitting this, I don't think I'd knit another Kim Hargreaves pattern -- the text and finishing instructions left a lot to be desired, it wasn't very carefully constructed (details like keeping a knit rib on the sides to facilitate sewing up, specifying where increases should go, etc.) and things like the shoulder decreases and sleeve cap were wildly off.

That said, I'm proud of it. I spent a lot of time working with the yarn substitution and pattern gaps to come out with something I really liked. I'm impressed at how well the various changes worked. The greatest triumph was my first machine-sewed zipper:



Apparently everyone was right and the trick really is just to baste it down firmly before you start. I think it's the height of cool. I also love the collar.

Once the body was blocked, the sleeves stayed a bit big (which I can live with) and the ribbed pieces went from teeny to quite big. Does anyone have any experience blocking ribbing? Can you get it the ridges to lie closer together if you re-dunk it? This sweater is quite boxy -- I wouldn't mind if it was a bit more form fitting.

I finished it a week and a half ago and keep forgetting to take a daylight photo of it on. So here's a front and back in the mirror before work: