As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to an end, we want to shine the light on women who are really making a difference. Dana Biddle, who lives in Heidelberg, is one such woman. Dana is a fibre artist and indie dyer who launched
Knitted Knockers SA, an NPO supplying hand-knitted breast prostheses for women who have undergone mastectomies or similar types of breast procedures, who can’t afford prosthetic surgery.
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We sat down to chat with Dana about why she started Knitted Knockers, and how to get involved.
“The idea came from my friend, Ruth Archer in 2014. Ruth rang me up to tell me that her sister, living in Australia, would be sending over a knitted knocker for their mom who had undergone a mastectomy. We had got to talking about how wonderful it would be to start a Knitted Knockers’ branch here in SA, as a few had been popping up internationally.
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In 2002, I had a lumpectomy, which resulted in a dramatic reduction to the size of my breasts, it was devastating at the time. When I realised that we could help women who couldn’t wear the other available prosthetics, for whatever reason, I knew I needed to be involved. The icing on the cake was that the means to that help involved yarn and knitting!
Without further say or ado, we got started on developing Knitted Knockers in SA. We researched all of the various groups for patterns and decided the Australian patterns would be the best match for SA women’s’ busts. Over time, we would refine our patterns and sizes.
Knitted Knockers SA
After setting up a website and social media accounts, and visiting various CANSA Care Centres, we were up and running. We introduced our Knitted Knocker kits for R57.50 through my online fabric and yarn shop, ColourSpun. Each kit includes instructions and patterns, pure cotton, pure merino filling and labels. Once the volunteers have purchased and knitted their pair of knockers, they are then passed on to us and gifted to a survivor.
We have now been going for eight years. We work with CANSA Care Centres and breast care centres around the country. We only deal with individuals when they approach us directly, and often refer them to their closest breast care centre. Light
A Sparke volunteers knit knockers for women who, for whatever reason, can’t get to a care centre.
Knitted Knockers SA
We’re closing in on 20 000 kits since we started, and all the knockers have been passed on. We still struggle to keep up with the demand! Whenever I think about all the women we’ve been able to gift with our knitted knockers, one story always comes to mind.
One of a grandmother in the rural Eastern Cape who cried when she received her knockers and realised she could now hug her grandchildren. She had never hugged them before, for fear of the plastic shopping bags in her bra crunching noisily. Once we were able to provide her with knockers of her own, she felt comfortable enough to hug her grandchildren – one that would have been long overdue. To know that we played a role in this is what keeps us knitting the knockers!
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Would you like to knit and gift a pair of knockers? Kits are available from CANSA Care Centres, Light A Sparke foundation, selected yarn stores and online from ColourSpun.
Visit the Knitted Knockers South Africa group on Facebook to share your experience!
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Feature Image: Knitted Knockers SA
