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Frequently Asked Questions

These are the answers to the questions we get asked most frequently. If you have a question that’s not covered, feel free to email us at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com and we’ll strive to respond within 24 hours.

Click on the little + to see the FAQ’s

1. Can I share your patterns?

No. It is illegal to share our patterns, even free ones. They are our intellectual property and are covered by copyright laws. This means you cannot share printed or digital copies of our pattern pieces and/or instructions. It is also illegal to sell our patterns or to use our photos without our permission. Individuals wanting to use our patterns will need to purchase or download the pattern themselves. We put a huge amount of work into producing our patterns and providing ongoing support to customers and we really appreciate the amazing people that purchase our patterns legally and thereby enable us to continue designing.

2. What is the difference between A4 paper and letter paper?

“Letter” paper is 8.5″ x 11″ and is used in the USA and Canada. The rest of the world uses A4 paper which is 210mm x 297mm. Because the paper sizes are slightly different, you can occasionally have problems printing patterns on one size paper if it was designed on the other. When this problem occurs, it’s so minimal that the test square looks ok, but the pattern pieces are very slightly bigger or smaller, causing problems when you’re assembling your bag. To avoid this and to make sure our patterns can be used successfully worldwide, we provide our patterns in both formats. Just make sure you download the format used in your country so you have complete success printing your pattern.

3. How do I download my pattern?

See the “HOW TO DOWNLOAD PATTERNS” page for details on how to download your pattern after purchase. Some of our patterns include 3 files: 1 is the instruction file and the remaining 2 are the pattern pieces to print, in the two paper formats mentioned above. We recommend downloading your pattern on a desktop computer or laptop as many experience sizing problems when downloading on a mobile device or tablet. You can download each file a maximum of 6 times. If you reach your maximum download limit, please contact us.

4. How do I print the PDF pattern?

We recommend using Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader to open your PDF files. When printing, select to print at “actual size” or 100% with “no scaling”. Before cutting out your pattern pieces, check that each piece matches the measurement stated on the piece, as well as checking the test square. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can get the files printed at a local print shop or using an online printing service.

5. I haven’t received my order confirmation email

If you haven’t received the order confirmation, first check your junk email box. If you can’t find it there, then see  section 3 of the “HOW TO DOWNLOAD PATTERNS” page for details on how to download the pattern from your account.

If you’re still having problems, please email us at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com. Please let us know which pattern you purchased and the email address used. This will help us locate your purchase quickly so we can resend the pattern files. We will respond within 48 hours, but usually much sooner.

6. What measurements are used in your patterns?

We use imperial measurements in all our patterns. Some patterns also include metric measurements. Check the individual pattern listing for confirmation.

7. Do you offer wholesale discounts?

Wholesale discount codes for large hardware orders:

For orders over £100, use “WHOLESALE10” for 10% off.

For orders over £200, use “WHOLESALE15” for 15% off.

Wholesale discounts do not apply to sewing patterns, completed bags, or sale items and cannot be used in conjunction with other discount codes. For large purchases of the same item, or if you’d like to stock our products yourself, contact us for custom pricing.

8. Can I sell bags made with your patterns?

Yes you can! The only limitation is that you must be making them on a home-based scale, not large scale production. You don’t need to reference Country Cow Designs or give us credit when selling your bags.

9. Where can I get help and advice?

If you’re struggling with one of our patterns, feel free to email us at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com. For general bag making and sewing machine advice, I also recommend checking out the large bag making groups on Facebook, which I’ve found to be a huge support in the past.

10. How can I stay up-to-date with new pattern releases?

Join our mailing list (there’s a form at the bottom of the home page) and you’ll receive an email update for each new pattern release as well as special offers for hardware and zips. Make sure you check your junk mail after signing up and add us to your safe senders list.

11. Can I teach with your patterns?

To teach workshops or lessons using our patterns, you first need our consent. Please contact us at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com. Each member of the class needs to buy the pattern; you can’t simply use your copy of the pattern to teach an entire class. We’re happy to provide a discount depending on the number of pupils attending the class so please contact us concerning this.

12. I thought I was buying a paper pattern, can I get a refund?

We try to make it very clear that all our patterns are digital PDFs, not paper. As digital items cannot be returned once delivered, we cannot issue refunds.

13. Disclaimer

We write our patterns and guides in good faith. All the recommended components and requirements are provided as a guide. We can’t be held responsible for a shortage of fabric or other supplies, or the quality, size or standard of the finished item.

14. Where are you based?

We live in Cornwall in the UK but we sell our patterns to customers all over the world.

15. Can you add patterns I previously purchased to my account?

If you purchased patterns from us before the new website was set up in July 2021 and want these added to your account, you’ll need to email us with the following details:

  • Which pattern(s) you purchased
  • Where you purchased them (our old Payhip website or my Etsy shop)
  • The email address you used to make the purchase

Once we have these details, we can add your previously purchased patterns to your account. This can take up to 48 hours.

16. Do you provide print shop/projector files for pattern pieces?

We can provide these for some patterns on request. We don’t provide them as standard because many customers were confused about what these A0/A1 files were for.

17. Do you charge VAT/sales tax on your patterns?

If you’re purchasing digital products from within the UK or EU, your purchase price includes VAT at the standard rate for your country. This is in line with EU laws on digital product sales.

Physical sales within the UK also include VAT. If you require a VAT invoice, please make a request by replying to your purchase confirmation email. 

18. Why do you only accept EU hardware orders over £135?

Due to VAT laws in the EU, we’re required to register for VAT in 27 countries in order to sell physical products to our EU non business customers. For digital sales, we can complete one VAT return for all 27 countries by means of the OSS scheme but this is not currently possible for physical sales.

However, for orders over £135 or orders placed by VAT registered businesses, we’re not required to collect the VAT, so these orders can be placed through the website.

For orders under £135, we sell through our Etsy shop. This way, the EU VAT is taken care of by Etsy. Unfortunately, Etsy charges high fees and this is reflected in the difference between prices on our website and those in our Etsy shop.

19. Why can’t I log into my account or access my purchases?

We moved to a new website platform in July 2021. We contacted all customers to ask if they would like to have their account transferred or not. If you didn’t receive an email at the time, it’s likely it went to your junk email. 

If your account was not transferred then you’ll need to set up a new account. Alternatively, you can contact us by email at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com and request that we transfer your account and previous purchases. This is usually done within 48 hours of receiving a request.

20. Do you offer FREE shipping?

Free express shipping is available as follows:

  • UK purchases: £50 and over
  • USA purchases: £50 (approx $67 USD) and over
  • Canada purchases: £75 (approx $130 CAD) and over
  • Australia purchases: £70 (approx $130 AUD) and over
21. Why is my gift card not working?

Gift cards need to be added to the “gift card” box at checkout. If you try to enter it in the “coupon” section on the basket page, it will not work. Alternatively, you can add the gift card to your account if you have one with us. You’ll then be given the option to set it against a purchase at the checkout page.

If you’re still having problems using your gift card, please email us at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you within 48 hours.

22. I purchased the same pattern twice by mistake

First of all, we recommend checking that you have definitely made two purchases. You can check this with your payment provider. Your confirmation email will contain two download links, one for A4 paper and one for letter paper. This doesn’t mean you’ve purchased the pattern twice. We provide both paper types to cater for people using different paper sizes in different countries.

If you’re certain that you’ve purchased the pattern twice, please contact us. If your duplicate purchases were made within a 30 day period, we’ll issue an immediate refund. If your purchases were more than 30 days apart, we’ll provide a credit on your account to offset against a future purchase. Contact us by email at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com.

23. Why does it say I’ve reached my download limit?

Each file has a limit of 10 downloads. This is standard practice to restrict sharing and ensure that bots can’t endlessly share the download link.

If you’ve reached your download limit, please email us at countrycowdesigns@gmail.com and we will reset it for you for free.

We recommend saving the download to your computer after purchase so you always have a copy.

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