Cute black crocheted shoulder bag with kittens

Hello again 😊
This is something my daughter asked me to make. Her old shoulder bag was very ragged and totally worn out. And she  wanted a new one with cute kittens on, so here it is.

The measurements when it's lying flat are 32x32 cm, and the base is 8x24 cm.

What you need: Crochet needles nr 5 and 6, approx 300 grams of black cotton yarn (50 gr=160m), some leftover cotton yarn for the kittens, a sewing needle,  3 pairs of googly eyes, and hot glue.

How you do it:
The bag is crocheted with triple yarn, so use 3 bundles at the time.
Crochet 31 chain stitches, turn, do 1 sc in the 2nd st from the hook, and continue with 29 more sc.
*turn, 1 ch, 30 sc* Repeat from *to* 9 times.
Then start crocheting around the base, doing 1 sc in all sts. Continue around until the height of the bag is 24 cm.
3ch, 1dc, *2ch,2dc* repeat from *to* until you have completed the round.
Do 1 sc in each st, and continue for 5 rounds.Cut the thread, pull it through the loop, and secure both ends on the inside of the bag.

Shoulder strap:
Crochet 7 chain stitches, turn, do 1 sc in the 2nd st from the hook, and continue with 5 more sc.
 *turn, 1 ch, 6 sc* Repeat from *to* until required length. Mine is 111 cm. Cut the thread, pull it through the loop. use a needle to sew the strap onto the bag. I put it 9 cm down from the edge and sew along three sides of the strap up to the row of holes.

Kittens:
These are made with double yarn, and crochet hook nr 5.
Step 1. Make a magic ring. If you don't know how, there's a good tutorial here.

Step 2. Make 6 sc in the ring, and tighten it.

Step 3. Make 2 sc in each stitch = 12 stitches.

Step 4. Make 1 sc in the first st, then 2 in the second, and so on around the ring = 18 stitches.

Step 5. Make 1 sc in the first 2 st, then 2 sc in the third st. Repeat all the way around = 24 stitches

Step 6. Make 1 sc in the first 3 st, then 2 sc in the forth st. Repeat all the way around = 32 stitches

Step 7. Make 3 dc in the next st, 1ch, 3 more dc in the same st.

Step 8. 6 sl st

Step 9.  Make 3 dc in the next st, 1ch, 3 more dc in the same st, 1 sl st, cut the thread and pull it through the loop.

Make all 3 kittens in different colours. Embroider on the noses, and sew the kittens onto the bag.
If you like, you can put on googly eyes with hot glue. According to my daughter, everything gets better with googly eyes 😉

How to make the rope:
I used 5 strings of black, and one string of each colour I had used for the kittens.
Make the strings twice the length you want the rope to be, and twine each end in opposite directions. If it's a long rope, you will need a helping hand with this. When it's sufficiently twined, fold in the middle, and make a knot in the open end.