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.