ZigZag Swimsuit Cover

Hook: G & I
Material: I Love This Cotton
Gauge: 9 sl st Rows = 2”

Hints & Tips:

-          In the chest piece, the sc2tog serves the same purpose as the ch 1 at the end of every sl st row

-          In the chest piece, when you sc2tog, you will work in the previous worked ch and the next ch so you don’t lose any stitches.

-          The chest is the only gauge that is important, the skirt you want loose and can adjust length to preference.
-     For the neck tie, you will ch until the desired length (22" for the toddler, for example) and then sl st back down the ch (I used two colors, one for the chain and one for the slip stitch back down) - then you pull it through two rows of sl st in the center of the chest piece, it should not be visible in the front. 

Special Stitches:

BegTrpCl – Begin Treble Cluster – Ch 3, [YO twice, put hook in st, pull up a loop, *YO, pull through two loops on hook* twice], once you have 3 loops on your hook, YO and pull through all loops – repeat *-* while doing stitch and then repeat [] twice.

TrCl – Treble Cluster - , [YO twice, put hook in st, pull up a loop, *YO, pull through two loops on hook* twice] until you have  loops on your hook, YO and pull through all loops - repeat *-* while doing stitch and then repeat [] three times.

Tr V-stitch – Treble V-stitch – Treble stitch, ch 1, treble stitch

Toddler size (3-4T)

Chest Piece:  G hook
Round 1) With color A - Ch 81, join to first ch with a sl st to form a ring, make sure you don’t twist – 80 ch

Row 1) Ch 1, sc2tog, ch 23, sl st in 2^nd ch from hook and in every ch down, ch 1, sl st back down row – 22 sl st

Row 2) Sc2tog, sl st in 2^nd st from hook, sl st to end, ch 1, sl st back down row

Row 3 – 79) Repeat row 2

Row 80) Sc2tog (the last ch and the first ch), sl st in both the row 1 and row 79 to the top, tie off.

Turn project over and work in opposite end of chain.

Round 1) Join in back of project, ch 1, *sc in next 7 ch, 2 sc in next ch* around, join color B in last st, join to first st with sl st – 90 sc

Skirt: I hook

Round 1) With color B, join in back, BegTrCl, ch 1, skip 2 st, *TrCl, ch 1, sk 2 st* around, join to  BegTrCl with sl st, tie off -  30 clusters

Round 2) With color C, join in a ch 1 sp near the back, ch 2, tr v-stitch in same sp as joining, *tr v-stitch* in every ch 1 sp around, join to first tr with sl st, tie off – 30 v-stitch

Round 3 - 11) Repeat rounds 1 & 2

Teen size:

Chest Piece:  G hook
Round 1) With color A - Ch 126, join to first ch with a sl st to form a ring, make sure you don’t twist – 126 ch

Row 1) Ch 1, sc2tog, ch 47, sl st in 2^nd ch from hook and in every ch down, ch 1, sl st back down row – 46 sl st

Row 2) Sc2tog, sl st in 2^nd st from hook, sl st to end, ch 1, sl st back down row

Row 3 – 125) Repeat row 2

Row 126) Sc2tog (the last ch and the first ch), sl st in both the row 1 and row 149 to the top, tie off.

Turn project over and work in opposite end of chain.

Round 1) Join in back of project, ch 1, *sc in next 5 ch, 2 sc in next ch* around, join color B in last st, join to first st with sl st – 147 sc

Skirt: I hook

Round 1) With color B, join in back, BegTrCl, ch 1, skip 2 st, *TrCl, ch 1, sk 2 st* around, join to  BegTrCl with sl st, tie off -  49 clusters

Round 2) With color C, join in a ch 1 sp near the back, ch 2, tr v-stitch in same sp as joining, *tr v-stitch* in every ch 1 sp around, join to first tr with sl st, tie off – 49 v-stitch

Round 3 - 30) Repeat rounds 1 & 2

***How to adjust size***

-          To adjust size, you will make a chain that wraps around the person’s chest (under the breasts). This is Round 1.

-          For Row 1, you will chain until the length comes up from under the breast and covers them completely. You will then follow the instructions as they go until you reach the skirt.

-          For round 1 before the start of the skirt, you will count your total stitches and see what they are divisible by and to make sure your end result is divisible by three, otherwise you will end up with a cluster in round 1 that doesn’t quite have the same number of stitches separating it. It’s all about the math.

-          For the final rounds (which determine the length) you will just keep repeating rounds 1 and 2 until the garment is long enough for you.