Crochet Birkin 35 Inspired Bag PDF Pattern

First official bag I’ve made, and the pattern is so easy and fun to follow! I even splurged and got the hardware for it! Can’t wait to send the finished bag pictures. Used Classic Cotton in Peacock, double stranded.

Although the design is there, this pattern is not written conventionally by any standard I have ever seen, which makes it difficult to follow. I am a crochet designer and pattern tester for international designers and I had difficulty deciphering these instructions. I relied on the photos to count rows/stitches and understand what the written instructions meant. Ultimately cute design but not recommended for beginners or intermediate crocheters. I recommend a strong foundation in sewing/finishing technique and overall crochet skills before attempting to make this. For this price, I was expecting this pattern to be more user-friendly, more detailed, and more clear.

So, first the positives: I think it’s really creative to crochet a bag like this. I’ve been crocheting for years, but I wouldn’t be able to make something like this on my own. Once you get the hang of the pattern, it’s relatively okay to follow, but I don’t think it’s suitable for beginners. It’s also great that there are lots of pictures and measurements included (by now I’ve given up on getting the exact size right, even though I’m using pure cotton and the same yarn weight). Things I wish I’d known beforehand: Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that this pattern isn’t written like most others. On the one hand, it was very confusing at first that it counts in half rows instead of full rows. I just wish there had been a note mentioning that, because I found the instructional video too late (but luckily, I was able to crochet the missing rows in). I also have to recalculate the correct number of rows every time just to be on the safe side. Additionally, I wish it had mentioned to make a turning chain. It varies with writers whether that’s done or not. I mean I could figure it out from the pictures, but I didn’t see confirmation until I read a comment under a video. It would also have been great if there had been a video showing how to sew everything together and attach the hardware, and if it had included a row count.