Barbara Demorest hit bottom after being diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.
The diagnosis itself wasn’t the bottom for the Bellingham woman, nor was the mastectomy. Surgery complications that postponed her reconstruction weren’t the bottom either.
The bottom was when she found out she couldn’t place a prosthetic on the tender scar on her chest for at least six weeks.
“During this whole process, that made me cry,” Demorest said. “That was the bottom for me. I just wanted to be normal.”
What Demorest did after she reached the bottom has impacted thousands of women around the world, including Clark County women.
How to help
To make a donation to Knitted Knockers:
• Visit the nonprofit's website,
www.knittedknockers.org.
• Mail checks to Knitted Knockers, 1780 Iowa St., Bellingham, WA 98229.
• To request a Knitted Knocker, download the pattern or become a knitting volunteer: visit the website,
www.knittedknockers.org.
Demorest launched a nonprofit called Knitted Knockers, which specializes in exactly what the name suggests: knitted breast prosthetics. Knitted Knockers runs off of volunteers and donations and provides the prosthetics for women free of charge. The nonprofit asks for a $10 donation to cover costs, but women are never turned away if they can’t afford to make a contribution.
Ruthie Westlund, 77, learned about Knitted Knockers from a friend. The Vancouver woman underwent a double mastectomy and five brutal months of chemotherapy, followed by radiation, which prevented her from having reconstructive surgery right away. She hopes to have the surgery this winter.
In the meantime, Westlund wanted a natural-looking prosthetic. So, she ordered a beige set of Knitted Knockers.
“Fortunately, I have something that makes me feel like a woman,” Westlund said.
Genesis of an idea
The idea for Knitted Knockers didn’t originate with Demorest. While looking at a pamphlet full of prosthetics, Demorest’s doctor told her about another patient who knitted a prosthetic. Demorest was in no condition to knit, so she reached out to a friend and fellow knitter.
Her friend searched the Internet and showed up at church the following week with a knitted prosthetic.
“It was amazing,” Demorest said. “It was so soft. It was pretty. It could be used in a normal bra.”
“I knew immediately this was something that needed to be provided to doctors’ offices,” she added.
Demorest asked her doctors if they would hand out knitted prosthetics if she could round up knitters to make them. The providers were delighted, she said.
Demorest tracked down the creator of the knitted prosthetic pattern and asked if she could use the Knitted Knockers name and distribute the prosthetics on the West Coast. With the woman’s approval, Demorest formed the nonprofit, enlisted volunteers in Bellingham and Knitted Knockers took off from there.
Knitted Knockers has more than 1,000 knitters in 30 states. Some knitting groups provide for their communities specifically. Other groups and individuals make prosthetics and ship them to Demorest, who uses them to fill orders placed through the website, www.knittedknockers.org.
The nonprofit has given out 5,000 Knitted Knockers just through the website. The website has details about the preferred yarn type and knitting style for the prosthetics and has a pattern available for download. The pattern has been downloaded 33,000 times.
“I know that we’re making an impact around the country,” Demorest said, adding that similarly named groups have sprouted up across the U.S.
Colors and sizes
The volunteer knitters make the prosthetics in a variety of colors and sizes. Each Knitted Knocker is overstuffed with a polyester fiber fill, similar to the material used in stuffed animals and pillows. They’re overstuffed because some women have a concave chest after their surgeries. The back of the prosthetic has a small hole, where women can remove stuffing, and a tail of yarn, so they can cinch the prosthetic close.
Westlund, of Vancouver, wears her Knitted Knockers every day. She has silicone prosthetics, as well, but prefers the knitted version.
“They’re much lighter, more comfortable, much more natural looking,” Westlund said.
Westlund has requested additional Knitted Knockers that she plans to take to Compass Oncology, where she received treatment, so providers there can show women the samples and tell them about the nonprofit.
“As a mastectomy patient, I’m grateful this exists,” Westlund said.
