# Bit of a panic here!



## MardiSumner (Jun 25, 2019)

One of my cousins found out week before last she has breast cancer; this past Thursday was told she was to have a bilateral mastectomy this coming Tuesday.
We share a weird sense of humor, so I asked if she wanted some knitted knockers? (This was before we were aware of how major this was & is!)
She laffingly declined. After meeting with her surgeon, she accepted my offer.
I've found several sites for pattern(s). None mention what they are to be filled with.
I'm thinking a flesh color bamboo yarn.
But what filler? Breathable, we live in south central Florida, light weight, but doesn't it need a certain bit of weight for a B cup?
Fiber fill? Quilt batting? What??
Prayers for Jillian are welcomed & appreciated!


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## Cathy B (May 15, 2014)

I found this answer on the Knitted Knockers website under FAQ;

What are the knockers made of?
The knockers are made of soft, non-wool, washable yarn and filled with PolyFiberFil. They are all knit by volunteers so there is a variety of yarn used.

https://www.knittedknockers.org/


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## charliesaunt (Apr 22, 2011)

Prayers for your cousin, Jillian. She is blessed to have a cousin who is loving, caring and understanding. Please be patient with her after her surgery. Many don't speak about the hills and valleys a patient goes through and although they love and care sometimes don't understand the person going through cancer also faces highs and lows. They are stressed beyond understanding and so their response may be short, or impatient. They may make you uncomfortable in speaking to them because their mind seems to wander or their eyes fill with tears or seem disconnected or as though they are not listening. Pray you never have to walk in their shoes. Be patient. Be loving and be UNDERSTANDING. They love you, but reality sneaks in to even the happiest of times and it can and most times is overwhelming.


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## wendy n (Jul 23, 2015)

Thank you for the reply Charliesaunt. My husband is waiting for surgery for cancer this Wednesday coming and can see how it is effecting him but you spelling it out will hopefully give me more patience and understanding of what he is going through.


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## kknit (May 22, 2011)

MY LYS has a group that does knitted knockers, the shop is closed on Momday but I will reach out and see about the information you are seeking


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## Cathy B (May 15, 2014)

The Knitted Knockers sight also has a lot of information regarding the best yarn (by brand) to use, based on feedback from recipients, advice on keeping them in place and lots of other helpful information for you and your cousin. 
You are both in my prayers.


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## MardiSumner (Jun 25, 2019)

Thank y'all for your kind words & suggestions.
Jillian, aka "Cuz" & I both lost our husband's just a few weeks apart last Fall, so, we've been on each other's shoulders a lot!
I happen to have a lot of fiberfill; would memory foam help, added to the front, with the weight?
I'm sorry to be such a bother, she just deserves the best.


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## MardiSumner (Jun 25, 2019)

Charlieaunt, 
Your words nailed it! Kevin had Alzheimer's & Sundowners (only in a west facing room).
What you stated is what I learned while he was dealing.
The biggest lesson was that his feelings & actions weren't necessarily pointed at anyone; they just surfaced at the oddest times.


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## seamer45 (Jan 18, 2011)

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone but in fact the cross dressing men use birdseed to help form breast to give them weight. Don’t kill the messenger, I’m just sayin’. My daughter tended bar in Manhattan for 15 years. Many of her friends were LGBTQ. We met all kinds.


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## plumhurricane (Dec 9, 2012)

Birdseed sounds like a good idea, if acceptable just be sure to nuke it or bake it so you don’t get weevils in it which is what happened to a granddaughter who had one of those rice filled neck rolls


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## MrsB (Jun 3, 2011)

Creative ideas!

https://www.knittedknockers.org/videos/

Request for FREE knocker at https://www.knittedknockers.org/request-a-knocker/


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

I vaguely remember reading about the knitted knockers group in England … they may have called themselves something else there … they are very proprietary about the pattern they use which is supposed to fit better than anything else.
I read that they use a small, flat rock (often painted with one word … love, faith, hope, blessed, etc … and that is buried deep within the fiberfill … they know it’s there and it adds weight to the prosthesis so it doesn’t ‘pop out’ from the bra.


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## jmcret05 (Oct 24, 2011)

I would let your cousin guide you on the timing and just listen to her. It may be that she will be a candidate for reconstructive surgery and she has so many decisions right now that your shoulder and your understanding will be more important than anything else for some time.


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## mathrox (Jun 17, 2019)

Duplicate


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## AnnAlaska (Mar 18, 2017)

I have made a few crocheted knockers for a friend. I made her special ones with a netting bath sponge thing as stuffing for when she went swimming. It seemed to work okay.


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## gr8 (Jul 4, 2013)

seamer45 said:


> I hope this doesn't offend anyone but in fact the cross dressing men use birdseed to help form breast to give them weight. Don't kill the messenger, I'm just sayin'. My daughter tended bar in Manhattan for 15 years. Many of her friends were LGBTQ. We met all kinds.


Growing up (I was born in 1945) the women who had mastectomies in those days did use birdseed "bossoms" in their bras. Actually it was a bag in a shape of the gals breast. Her bra had a piece of material stitched to the sides and lower edge of the bra. the opening was near the top so the bag of birdseed could be put into the breast cavity of the bra. This meant the birdseed pocket, though worn near the body, was kept a bit cleaner and could be removed when the bras went into the wash. The bags also lasted longer without having to have new ones made. There was a seamstress who specialized in making these and made them to fit the bras of her various clients. there may have been a fastener at the top of the inside of the bra...I can't remember exactly. Also, the women we knew who had mastectomies only used them if they were dressing to go out - around the house they usually did not wear the birdseed bras.


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## bgeivo (Apr 16, 2014)

AnnAlaska said:


> I have made a few crocheted knockers for a friend. I made her special ones with a netting bath sponge thing as stuffing for when she went swimming. It seemed to work okay.


Love this idea.


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## flpat (Sep 28, 2019)

Knitted knockers will send her a free set, they need to know the cup size. I love mine. They are knitted with a very soft yarn (I think it is a bamboo mix from the feel) and stuffed with fiberfill. If you make them, leave the final closure open so she can remove excess fiberfill to make it exactly the size she wants. I use mine in my mastectomy bra - it has a pocket to insert the boob. In my swimsuit, I just use a couple of safety pins to hold it in place. I like it much better than the one that I was given through medicare. That one is rather heavy and hot - a silicone. Good in winter, but here in FL, kind of hot in summer. If she is of medicare age, they will provide the silicone boob and three bras. She can get three new bras every three months and a new form every two years. Her doctor needs to write a prescription for it. Can be ordered online, but there are stores that specialize in them. I go to one in Brandon, A Pink Boutique.


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## sabrinacordova61 (9 mo ago)

MardiSumner said:


> One of my cousins found out week before last she has breast cancer; this past Thursday was told she was to have a bilateral mastectomy this coming Tuesday.
> We share a weird sense of humor, so I asked if she wanted some knitted knockers? (This was before we were aware of how major this was & is!)
> She laffingly declined. After meeting with her surgeon, she accepted my offer.
> I've found several sites for pattern(s). None mention what they are to be filled with.
> ...


Praying 🙏


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## Country Living (Oct 3, 2012)

Prayers blessings to all those needing and those giving KP again friends helping friends......


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## 6catsplus1 (Jul 18, 2017)

AnnAlaska said:


> I have made a few crocheted knockers for a friend. I made her special ones with a netting bath sponge thing as stuffing for when she went swimming. It seemed to work okay.


That’s brilliant! I never thought of different fillings for different purposes. It seems so obvious now!


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## leftyknitter21 (9 mo ago)

A friend of mine had a mastectomy 3 years ago. I knitted her a knocker and filled it with acrylic batting. The main problem she had was keeping the knocker in place. It was too lightweight to stay in the bra cup. She tried using safety pens to pen it in, it kept working up and didn't feel right. We even put pebbles in it to give it some weight. Still didn't work.

We bought her a couple of "falsies" but those didn't work, either. Same problem: to light, hard to keep in place. Nothing like your prosthetic coming out while you're in public. 

She ended up getting a couple of mastectomy bras that work great and fit perfect. Her medicare/secondary paid for the bras, so that's also a great idea.


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## peanutpatty (Oct 14, 2012)

plumhurricane said:


> Birdseed sounds like a good idea, if acceptable just be sure to nuke it or bake it so you don’t get weevils in it which is what happened to a granddaughter who had one of those rice filled neck rolls


Wouldn't rice work just as well? I'm thinking a small amount sewn into a sturdy pouch and then wrapped with polyester padding. Worth a try.


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## Jessica-Jean (Mar 14, 2011)

peanutpatty said:


> Wouldn't rice work just as well? I'm thinking a small amount sewn into a sturdy pouch and then wrapped with polyester padding. Worth a try.


Rice is food. Food not sealed into something impervious to microscopic-bug entry WILL - eventually - become bug-infested.


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