Knitted Knockers provide soft landing for breast cancer survivors
Calgary group knits comfy alternative to silicone gel-filled breast prosthesis
"Not everybody wants to have that thing poking out."
And so, Kim Tomlin doesn't sew nipples on all the breast prostheses she makes for a cancer survivors.
However, she and her band of volunteers are happy to customize their creations for the women who need them.
"So you can have a nipple, or not have a nipple, and you can have lime green if you want. Or you can have skin-tone, which is I gotta say, is more popular."
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Tomlin recently founded Knitted Knockers Alberta, a Calgary-based volunteer group that makes — you guessed it — knockers.
Each breast weighs a mere 30 grams, can be placed inside any regular bra and are 100 per cent free.
Tomlin says while a traditional, silicone gel-filled ones work for many women who have had a mastectomy or lumpectomy, some find them "little hot and heavy."
Made from super soft Ultra Pima DK Cotton yarn, she says knitted knockers are a comfortable alternative that can be altered to fit any woman's body after surgery.
"When we send these out in the mail, we leave a little hole open on the edge so a lady can take the stuffing out where she doesn't need it," said Tomlin.
The knockers are filled with a polyester fibre donated by the Ontario-based company, Eversoft.
Tomlin says the stuffing is specially treated to make it feel as fluffy as a down pillow.
She is recruiting more volunteers and is looking for "fairly accomplished knitters" who are comfortable using four needles.
