Little Flamenco Dancer

Materials:

• RED HEART® Soft®: 1 (1, 2, 2) balls of 9925 Really Red A
• RED HEART® Boutique Sashay®: 1 (2, 2, 3) balls of 1904 Red B
• Susan Bates® Knitting Needle: 5mm [US 8] circular needle, 16” (40.5 cm) long
• Susan Bates® Crochet Hook: 6mm [US J-10] for neckband ruffle only
• Yarn needle
• Stitch marker
• Leotard
• ½” (13 mm) elastic
• Sewing needle and thread to match leotard

Gauge: 16 sts = 4” (10cm); 22 rows = 4” (10cm) in Stockinette st worked in rounds (knit every round)

Measurements: Directions are for size 2. Changes for sizes 4, 6, and 8 are in parentheses

• Finished Waist: 18 (19½, 21, 24)” (45.5 (49.5, 53.5, 61) cm), unstretched
• Finished Lower Edge: 30 (32½, 35, 40)” (76 (82.5, 89, 101.5) cm), not including ruffles
• Finished Length: 13” (33 cm), before waistband folded down and not including ruffles

Abbreviations:

• A, B= Color A and Color B;
• k = knit;
• st(s) = stich(es);
• [ ]= work directions in brackets he number of times specified;
• * = repeat whatever follows the * as indicated.

Instructions:

Special Stitch
M1= Make 1 (Increase) – Lift strand between needles to left-hand needle and knit strand through the back loop, twisting it to prevent a hole.

Notes
1. Skirt is worked from the waist down.
2. Ruffles are knitted on to purl rounds of skirt after skirt is complete.
3. To work with Sashay, hold ribbon of yarn with metallic end at bottom and “railroad track” at top. To knit or crochet, insert the needle or hook into the loops at the top of the railroad track instead of wrapping the yarn (yarn over).

Skirt
With knitting needle and A, cast on 72 (78, 84,96) sts. Place marker for beginning of round. Taking care not to twist sts, prepare to work in rounds. Work in Stockinette st worked in rounds (knit every round) until piece measures about 1” (2.5 cm) from beginning.

Waistband Turning Round: Purl. Work in Stockinette st until piece measures about 1½” (4 cm) from waistband turning round.

First Ruffle Placement Round: Purl. Work in Stockinette st until piece measures about 3½” (9 cm) from first ruffle placement round.

Second Ruffle Placement Round: Purl. Work in Stockinette st until piece measures about 2” (5 cm) from second ruffle placement round.

Increase Round: *K3, M1; repeat from * around—96 (104, 112, 128) sts. Work in Stockinette st until piece measures about 3½” (9 cm) from second ruffle placement round.

Third Ruffle Placement Round: Purl. Work in Stockinette st until piece measures about 2” (5 cm) from third ruffle placement round.

Increase Round: *K4, M1; repeat from * around—120 (130, 140, 160) sts. Work in Stockinette st until piece measures about 3¼” (8.5 cm) from third ruffle placement round.

Last Round: Purl. Bind off.

Ruffles

First Ruffle
Round 1: With right side facing, hold skirt upside down with waistband at bottom, knitting needle and A, pick up 72 (78, 84, 96) sts from first ruffle placement round. Tuck waistband down inside skirt to keep it out of the way.
Round 2: With B, k2, pass 2nd st on right needle over first st and off needle, *k1, pass 2nd st on right needle over first st and off needle; repeat from * around. Fasten off last st.

Second Ruffle
Work same as first ruffle, picking up sts from second ruffle placement round.

Third Ruffle
Round 1: With right side facing, knitting needle and A, pick up 96 (104, 112, 128) sts from third ruffle placement round. Complete ruffle same as first ruffle.

Fourth Ruffle
Round 1: With right side facing, knitting needle and A, pick up 120 (130,140, 160) sts from fourth ruffle placement round. Complete ruffle same as first ruffle.

Note:
If desired and there is enough B remaining after making the neckband ruffle, a fifth ruffle round can be worked over the last purl round.

Finishing
Cut elastic to fit waist with ½” (13 mm) extra. Sew ends of elastic together with ½” (13 mm) overlap to form a ring. Place elastic in waistband on wrong side. Fold waistband over elastic at waistband turning round and sew top edge of waistband to wrong side to encase the elastic.

Neckline Ruffle
With crochet hook and B, fold over beginning of B. Begin by working through the double layer of ribbon yarn. Insert hook from front to back through first loop, *[skip next loop, insert hook from front to back in next loop] 3 times (4 loops on hook), skip next loop, insert hook from front to back in next loop and draw it through all loops on hook (1 loop remains on hook); repeat from * until ruffle is long enough to go around the neck of the leotard. Fasten off. With sewing needle and matching thread, beginning at center back neck, tack ruffle around neck of leotard. Weave in any remaining ends.