WWEZD?

It is with much trepidation that I start my next project. I have been wanting to make Blouson since I first opened the summer '07 Interweave Knits magazine. I have the cast-on jitters. I recently acquired some Elizabeth Zimmermann books (thank you Ravelry, for linking directly to Amazon.com) and even though I am new to the EZ experience, I can't help but ask, what would Elizabeth Zimmermann do?

The sweater is all reverse stockinette, so it is the construction that I find myself picking apart.

Knit the back piece, knit the front, knit the arms, seam.

Wouldn't it be easier if I knit in the round, worked the back and the front back and forth once I got to the shoulder decreases? Knitting in the round would save me roughly a half inch in width, and since I am worried about the sweater being a tad too small despite getting gauge... plus hello, all that seaming. What if I knit both sleeves in the round, joined at the shoulder shaping and grafted the armpits?

The pleats are made by folding and tacking into place and then picking up the bottom hem through 3 layers of fabric. The hem is then folded and sewn into place.

Can't I knit the pleats from the beginning? I get that the sweater is fashioned after a sewn blouse, but picking up a stitch through 3 layers of fabric? It is a knit sweater, after all... And that bottom hem, sew into place, eh? There's gotta be a way I can do a provisional cast on and knit together to avoid all that seaming, that would require me to knit the hem first, figure out pleats second, knit in the round, kitchener in sleeves and pray that all the work of completely rewiring Mari Lynn Patrick's pattern would still give me the same sweater.

What do you think, would it be EZ to make the modifications?