Simple knitted bag with stripes

Or perhaps we can also call this “What to make with the yarn –bag” :-). I bought ribbon yarn with a thought to crochet a rug with them in May. After washing the yarn and trying to crochet with it, I noticed that I just can't work with it, too heavy for my arm and wrist. So I decided to knit this very simple bag instead. This can be used as a laundry bag or to store something, in my case probably yarn. And I must admit that I now also feel tempted to make a really large bag for decorative pillows and throws. And somehow this bag now looks smaller in the pictures than in real life, should perhaps have filled it with more yarn :-). Here below follows a short written instruction.

And just to note, I have very basic skills in knitting and no idea how to write down a proper knitting pattern :-). Crochet is my thing so more skilled and seasoned knitters can surely make this better, but I thought I'll put this out here anyway. 

Yarn
1,1 kg = about 300 meters Lilli Ribbon Yarn from Filatex (or some other ribbon yarn/yarn)

Needles
Circular needle, 12 mm with 80 cm cable

Size 
approximately 40 cm x 48 cm

Cast on 56 stitches. Work in the round.  K = knit and P = purl. This bag is knitted from the bottom up and after finishing the piece I turned the wrong side outside (wanted to have purl stitches at the bottom and at the top).  

*K 9 rounds, P 9 rounds*, repeat *-* 3 more times. (4 stripes)

Last stripe: K 5 rounds, during the 6th round make handles. K 9 stitches, end 10 stitches, K 18 stitches, end 10 stitches, K 9 stitches. During the 7th round, cast on 10 stitches x 2 to replace the stitches ended during the previous round. Knit 12 rounds, or as much yarn you have left. End all stitches (round 13) and weave in the ends (= 49 rounds).

Crochet the bottom seam together with slip stitches and weave in the ends. I have also crocheted slip stitches around the handles on the wrong side. Now I wonder if it would have been better to make the handles only 8 stitches wide and leave the handles without strengthening. Oh well, I'll try that in the next bag. 

Hope this instruction is useful for someone! Have a wonderful summer week with your projects!

Pirjo