Knitted Holiday Bag with Drawstring

A knitted old style holiday bag with a drawstring. There is a graph chart available for help with the pattern.

What you need

Yarn: One Skein Ivy (50% alpaca, 45% merino, 5% estellina,
137 yards / 50 grams)
Color Pictured: #0100 Natural
Needles:
US 8 (5 mm) in 16″ circular needle
US 8 (5 mm) in DPNs
Notions:
-One Counter
-1 Sewing Needle
Gauge: 25 sts and 32 rows = 4″ (10 cm) in Stockinette Stitch (St st)

Instructions

Glossary:
K : Knit
P : Purl
st: stitch
M: Marker
YO: Yarn Over
K2tog: Knit 2 sts together
sts: stitches
RS: right side
BO: Bind Off
CO 60 sts

Steps

Use this knitting chart.

Place M or counter, join in the round
Rnd 1: K
Rnd 2: P
Repeat 1 x more
Rnd 5-7: K (note: if you would like a longer top add the knit rows here, 5-10 should do it. Make sure that if you do knit more rows that you remember that this will change the Rnd numbers below)
Rnd 8: *K8, YO, K2tog* repeat to end
Rnd 9-11: K

Start Chart at the bottom right. Repeat across for every row.
When finished with the chart continue here:

Rnd 63: K while placing a M every 10 sts.
Rnd 64 *K to 2 sts before m, K2tog, slip M* repeat to end
Rnd 65: K
Repeat Rnds 64 & 65 until 24 sts remain. Change to DPNs when knitting begins to feel tight.
Next Rnd: *K2tog* repeat to end
Next Rnd: K
Cut a long tail, sew through each loop on the needle like a hat.
Make an I-Cord:
CO 4 sts on the DPN
Row 1: K
Row 2: Slide the sts to the other end and K
Continue in this manner until the cord measure 16″ or desired length.
Sew in Ends
Fill your bag with goodies and enjoy!

This project was created and contributed by Yvonne Ellsworth from Lavendersheep.com