Bag for Lead Apron

My daughter-in-law is a cardiac nurse working for a heart device manufacturer. Her job requires her to wear a lead smock and apron to protect her from the effects of X-ray radiation during the procedures. The lead outfit weighs about 40 pounds. Since she’s in a specialized area, she also travels around to several hospitals. She was using a backpack to carry her leads so I offered to make her something more fun.

We started by looking for at the size and shape of the lead. They are bulky because they are rolled around a tube to prevent them from folding and developing cracks. After some searching and brainstorming we decided to model the bag after a combination of a duffle bag and a yoga mat bag. I made a prototype out of canvas. The size was a little off and the top flap with buckles idea wasn't working like we wanted. I made a second prototype. It was close enough to make some adjustments to the plans and start building.

The bag bag is made from black and cotton candy colored Italian saffiano leather, wool lining and YYK Excella zippers. This was first time using Excella zippers and I loved them. I think I like them better then RIRI zippers. I also made her a little snap top bag in pink leather to store phones, keys, etc.

A couple things I learned on this bag. When something is going to be used everyday function is important. We wanted to have one pull connecting both zippers and we just couldn’t get it to work well enough. If the bag was flat and you were standing over it the one pull worked ok. If anything changed, the zippers would easily get out of sync and cause an issue. Also, making a larger seam allowance on turned bags would make gluing and stitching gussets easier. I think I’m going to try a 15mm seam allowance next time and trim excess after sewing is done.