For cabled strip, 126 rows to make picking up stitches along edge fairly simple.
I messed up the grafting part, so ended up doing a 3 needle bind off and placing seam for that in the back. I used the yarn from the cabled strip to bindoff and then to pickup stitches SO THERE WERE MINIMAL ENDS TO WEAVE IN!
I-cord bindoff was fun, I used smaller needle (6) and picked up 124 for snugger fit.