Knitted breasts!!

There is a charity called Knitted Knockers, they provide a soft breast prosthetic for use after mastectomy surgery as they are soft for use whilst healing. They even provide ones for swimming as well! All free of charge, but donations welcome. I admit, I dont like the name lol, but they have been a welcome item for many. They are always wanting knitters, you can find them easily online if you want to get involved.

After a mastectomy, I applied for knitted knockers from the charity. They arrived beautifully packaged with a kind message, and I wear them regularly, very soft and cosy. They come with extra filling, or you can remove some to suit your size. One of them is filled with quick-drying soft, netted shower scrub, perfect inside my swimsuit. I wore it five weeks after my operation on holiday at a luxury hotel in Cyprus, and it boosted my confidence no end. The charity made a real effort to deliver them to me within a day or two before the holiday.

Hi Witzend, are the muffs open, so the hand can slip inside? (I can't tell from the photo.) The reason I ask is that my late mother had dementia and her hands were always cold. I bought her fingerless gloves but no one ever put them on her as far as I know. I don't know if it would have helped but I live 120 miles away, or I would've done it myself! Something to twiddle would almost certainly have helped and, if the one hand goes inside while the other twiddles, the muff is less likely to end up on the floor.

When I visited my aunt aged 110 in the nursing home (she lived alone at home till 109, then had a fall) she fiddled endlessly with sweet wrappers on her tray. I was tidying up the bits of toilet-roll on her knee and chair, she said "Don't take away my bits of comfort". It was heartbreaking to see the beginning of dementia. Wish I'd known about fiddle-muffs, or thought to knit her something myself.

I have knitted many 'Boobs' as my daughter is a midwife and was also an unpaid breastfeeding counsellor before that, so when she was at uni I knitted loads for her and other trainee midwives who had no one to knit them for them, I must admit I did always use baby pink and a darker pink wool, they were grateful for them as they were needed for part of their training.

Have just git a twiddle muff for a friend and, reluctantly, mailed it. Despite not having a dementia diagnosis I find them very therapeutic- we could all do with calming

What a lovely person you are Whitzend I've had a reconstruction otherwise I would ask you to knit me a couple of boobies!

The world needs more people like you.

My group has done the knitted boobs, the twiddle muffs and prem baby hats and coats. Our latest production is the worry monsters. They are all fun to do and it is good to know we are making a useful contribution to society.

Yes, lizzypop, they're muffs for keeping hands warm, as well as occupied. There are twiddle-things attached to the lining, too.

I found my pattern online. If anyone wants one, I think googling 'Oxford University Hospitals twiddle muffs' will find it.
They are very quick and easy to make, no expert knitting needed. My pattern is done with 2 strands of DK or one strand of chunky, on nice fat 6.5 mm needles.

I do twiddle muffs but never heard about the breasts.

I can't knit at all, but give me a crochet hook and I'm away!
I spend many a happy hour or two in the evenings crocheting 'twiddle muffs', usually half watching TV at the same time!
I make them big enough to get both hands in at once, and cover both the inside and outside with 'bits', crocheted flowers, tassels, pompoms, bits of ribbon and other soft things for the inside, with crocheted chains made into bows, buttons, flowers, beads etc outside!
I don't know how theraputic they are to use, but I find making them very relaxing

Love this thread! <3

Well I've never heard of twiddle muffs before ~ but it's a great idea and I'm inspired! These would be so wonderful for some young special needs pupils (My dil is a reception class teacher). I can see that they could be so useful to help those little'uns who need something to twiddle with during listening times. To help their fine motor skills and as well as helping them calm. This is a win-win. And I am about to make my first one. So thank you for this idea.

And the knitted breasts for breast-feeding technique is also a fabulous idea but I'm of the mil school that says never give advice unless asked, so this isn't a route I shall go down (hmmm ..... but I could have a variation of this on the twiddle muff .... )

Witzend
Your OP sounded like the patter from a Ken Dodd show.

The twiddle muffs are great; they really are relaxing to twiddle with.
People like to smooth them, do and undo the buttons and so on.

They're a great idea, as well as the knitted knockers.

A very much appreciated mother of one of my former students knitted me a gut for my biology lessons from a pattern I got from the RSB magazine. It is life size and just right to squeeze a marble through to show peristalsis. Thanks to one of my students for the marbles! They also much appreciate demonstrations of vomiting & defecation - then we have to chase the marbles round the floor to put them back in the mouth - much to the boys' delight.

What a lovely thread... I shall investigate further!
Grosvenor that's lovely advice for anyone going through a mastectomy just now..or indeed in the future.. I hope you are well now. ?

I'm not sure how to take that, Gabriella - or rather, perhaps I am...
To put it kindly, I was never a fan of the man.

My Dd has a knitted boob in her work bag, along with a life size doll and quite a lot of toys.
She's a Health Visitor and the doll and boob are to help Mothers to breast feed and the toys are to give to the babies' siblings to amuse them, so she can concentrate on Mum and new baby.

I learned about twiddle muffs two years ago. My DH had (successful) radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer daily for 7 weeks.
In each of the waiting room bays were boxes of donated wool and pairs of needles along with the pattern.
Anyone attending could add to the muffs in any stitch or colour until the desired size (12" x 24")was reached.
Once cast off they were collected by a charity for making up into muffs.
The brighter and more varied the better.
They are much appreciated at my local care home and I love being able to do such a simple thing that brings comfort and calmness to a lot of dementia patients.

@sunseeker - or anyone else with wool to spare - the very lovely MN Woolly Hugs welcome donations; have a look here for ideas
www.woollyhugs.org/

Be extra careful with embellishments. My husband was given one in hospital and tried to eat the buttons etc.

Fiddle pinnies are good, too. They are sewn rather than knitted. The advantage is that they’re tied on like an apron and don’t slide onto the floor.

You would certainly have to have a soft non scratchy knitted boob.

Could ask at dementia nursing homes if they wanted twiddle muffs. My Sister in law made one for my husband but he didn’t like it and carried on pulling the collars of of shirts or pulling his hair,eyebrows and chest hair off,wish he had used the muff though