knittedknockers.org

What is the author knitting?

The knitters among you will recognize this as an i-cord.

Three needles, three stitches per needle… looks fiddly.

Seems to be growing…

And growing….

Basil is riveted.

If these last two pictures seem lots nicer than the others, it’s because Kevin took them, with Fancy Camera.

For this picture, I stuffed the ball of yarn into the thing I’m knitting
to make it more recognizable what I’m knitting.

Now beginning to knit a flat back. Decreasing stitches,
more abruptly than I was previously increasing them.

Almost done with the back; almost time to add…

Fiberfill stuffing.

It’s what you think it is.

And now I’m knitting the other one…

And now they are done.

So here’s the thing: I have the coolest friends. Recently, a friend who was about to undergo a double mastectomy told me about Knitted Knockers, which are soft, comfortable knitted prosthetic breasts. Did you know that silicone breast prosthetics are hot, heavy, and expensive, and can’t be worn until weeks after surgery? Knitted prosthetics, on the other hand, are soft, light, and pretty, and, thanks to the organizers at knittedknockers.org and a lot of volunteer knitters, they’re free for anyone who needs them. I just checked out the order page on the website, and there’s a drop-down menu that seems to allow for every country, so I think the organization provides these worldwide! Check out this website, it’s the coolest thing. And if you’re a knitter, all the resources are there for you to knit them yourself. The website accepts donations of money and of knitted prosthetics.

if you’re an inexperienced knitter and find this project intimidating – before I knitted these, I had never knitted an i-cord, never used double pointed needles, never used more than two needles at once, and never increased nor decreased stitches. This was a great way to learn all of those skills :o). I did some searching for tutorials on YouTube when necessary, and it turned out that with the exception of the very beginning, when you’re working with a lot of tiny, tight stitches on multiple needles, it was easy. It was really enjoyable, to be honest. My friend provided me with this beautiful variegated yarn, and if you’re a beginner, I actually recommend variegated yarn. The constantly changing colors make it much, much easier for you to figure out which row is which and tell whether you’ve made a mistake or not.

Please pass on the word about knittedknockers.org to anyone who might benefit from it!!!