Boob Prosthetic Inserts for Mastectomy in Knitted Cotton

For five years, I have not worn any "lingerie" in the form of a bra, other than a camisole. This may be TMI (too much information), but a bilateral mastectomy, radiation treatments and reconstructive surgery did a number on the pain centers in my chest. Consequently, any close contact to my front is a real irritation. (The exception is that knit cotton t-shirts don't hurt my chest area).

Because I had many Google hits on a previous post about lymphodema (see lymphodema and compression sleeves post here), there must be a need for more information of this type for women with complications from breast cancer. So I want to share this new topic with other woman who might have use for this clever invention which Beryl Tsang came up with: a knit prosthetic breast. Crystal Palace Yarns has the pattern for knitting it on their website. It is a FREE pattern and can be found at this site. Thanks, Beryl, for this marvelous pattern!

The whole insert takes only a few hours hour to make, and a beginning knitter could easily make one (or two). Shout out in a comment below, and I'll walk you through the pattern if you have questions. One pattern alteration I found is to ensure a bind off after step #7 in the pattern.

So far, I have completed one insert and put it into a bra. My DH took this picture yesterday so that the blouse front with the insert on the right side could be shown. Now I just need to complete the second insert for my right side.


The advantages of this little cotton number (for me, at least) are:

1. It is 100% cotton, so it is soft next to either skin or scar tissue;
2. Because cotton is a natural fiber, there is not a risk of either allergy or skin irritation which occurs with synthetic products next to skin;
3. It has a knitted topknot that actually looks like a nipple under a bra cup; (yea! I have nipples again!)
4. It is absorbent, and completely machine washable;
5. Cotton is cooler than any synthetic material used as a bra cup filler, so again, it is more comfortable both against the skin and scar tissue;
6. The insert, when placed inside a bra cup, actually looks like an unaltered breast under clothing (see close-up picture below).

KNITTING NOTES:

Below is a picture of the insert about fifteen minutes into knitting it:

I used a total of 63 stitches on three needles, which is within the pattern guidelines for an "A" cup size.

To the right is a picture of both sides of the completely knitted insert.

The picture below is the insert with both sides sewn together with a running stitch. The insert was filled with cotton fleece.
(Picture of Pink Prosthetic Above is for Size A Cup)

What a wonderful idea. I'm sharing it with Charity Knitting and the Pink Out groups on Ravelry.

And thanks again, Dorothay, for bringing this pattern and concept back to my attention.

Etsy Blog Carnival: Brothers Then and Now

This month's Blog Carnival on Etsy, All Things Handmade requires that all Etsy bloggers submit an article on one of two subjects. The subject I chose to blog on was a childhood memory.

Many of my memories revolve around my brothers, Mac and John. Here they are back in the 1950's and a current picture is on the right.

This is one of the few photos where Mac, on the left in both photos, was pictured with a hint of a smile on his face.

A clear memory was when John buried some coins and a scarce dollar bill (maybe more?) in an empty mayonnaise jar. For years, and even into his adulthood, he tried to dig up those coins, but could never find them again. He even used a metal detector as recently as in the past decade, but alas, no jar ever was re-discovered. As far as I know, he is still on that treasure hunt. Is there a parallel biblical story here about hiding his talents?

If anything, it reinforced the teaching of using one's talents for the good of others. Both brothers are now generous men in many Godly ways, and I am proud to be their sister.

Food, Glorious Food

A couple of my husband's blogging buddies from Grand Junction, CO were dinner guests last evening. They are John Linko and Mike Saccone. Each friend daily writes a thoughtful piece on our community and its place in the world at their respective websites.

We had a delicious supper mainly prepared by DH Gene Kinsey, often wrong but seldom uncertain. Gene cooked a beef brisket that slowly baked in the oven all afternoon.

We also served a version of Emeril LaGasse's Mexican-Cole-Slaw. (Gene and I had lunch at a local Mexican food restaurant recently and both remarked on the delicious Cabbage Salsa. Our waitress gave us the main ingredients, and a Google search for this salsa/cole slaw was on.)

Gene added LOTS of fresh cilantro (maybe a cup) to the basic recipe, and boiled rice vinegar and sugar for a smooth dressing, with additional cumin, onion and diced jalepenos.



Gene also made tasty spuds in the form of Twice Baked Potatoes and garden chives.

My paltry offering to the dinner fare was the dessert, Creeping Crust Peach Cobbler, with a little added brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg on top. Peaches are plentiful in our happy valley this time of year, so the time was right to use up some local fruit produce.

Let's do that again!