My mother recently had a mastectomy having been diagnosed with breast and lymph node cancer. I'm glad to say she is doing well post surgery and now awaiting the next phase of treatment.

When she came home she was wearing a small cloth bag which carried the drain, you can see it in the pic below. After a mastectomy women have to wear a drain for at least 5 days and often longer. The drain is used to prevent or minimise bruising or swelling caused by fluid collecting in the wound cavity.

My mum having just come home from hospital, you can see her cloth bag (ps it's just tonic - no gin!)

We all commented on the bag which had clearly been handmade and my mother said to me that the nurse had mentioned they were woefully short of these bags as they relied on volunteers to make them. The breast care team said it would be amazing if we could help  find some more volunteers to make the bags.

The cloth bag is needed to support the drain and keep it safe, it needs to be worn all the time so you can imagine it might be nice to have a spare one. My mother just had this one which she wore for around 9 days post surgery.

Help women post-mastectomy and the Macmillan Breast Care Team by sewing up a drain bag

Having worked for Practical Publishing and Love Sewing Magazine for many years I felt sure there might be some sewists out there who would be able to use a few spare minutes and a little spare fabric to sew up a few of these bags. Do you have a little time to help out?

You can find alternative patterns for these bags online however they really don't need to be complicated or lined, just a simple square bag with a strap. Most sewists would be able to sew one of these up in 30 minutes or less! If you have time sew up a pair as some women have double mastectomies and need two drains, so matching bags would be a nice option to have.

Dimensions of the Drain Bag

Bag

The finished bag should be an 11" x 11" Square with a long strap which will go across the body.

Cut out two squares allowing for a small seam allowance. Hem the two top sides of the squares and then with right side together sew all along the three unhemmed sides.

Strap

The bag should hang at waist height so measure this against yourself and that way we should get a variety of sizes to suit women of all shapes and sizes.  The strap can be made from a long tube of cotton around 1" wide, or you could use a ready made webbing. Primarily, it needs to be comfortable to wear.

The strap should join at the corners of the bag as shown in the picture.

Join the strap securely, I recommend sewing an X-Box  to make sure the join is strong. However you may have a preferred technique.

Material

Lindsey the Macmillan Assistant Practitioner I spoke to said "a lightweight fabric would be preferable but we really are grateful for any bags in any fabric"

Where to send your bag(s)

The Breast Care Team
Room F11
Ivor Lewis Building
Glan Clwyd Hospital
Sarn Lane
Bodelwyddan
Denbighshire
LL18 5UJ

Thank you so much for your efforts, I really hope that this will enable the team to give women a choice in colour and a spare bag! Any queries please email hilary.pullen@practicalpublishing.co.uk