Barb’s friend Phyllis made her a knitted knocker.  She tried it on and it was comfortable.  Barb immediately knew other women needed this.  It was life changing.  Barb felt normal. 
Barb went to the doctor to ask if she could make these for women and have him hand them out. 

Barb and her crew of knitters got started and began giving them to the doctor’s office.  They created a website to order free knitted knockers.

50,000 mastectomies done in the U.S.  One million women living in the U.S. that have had mastectomies and have not been reconstructed. 

Barb and her knitters posted patterns, video tutorials, and approval yarns online so people can create their own.  About 25 women meet every week to make the knockers.  1,000 per month are sent out each month. 

Dear Abby reached out to the Knitted Knockers volunteers and said she wanted to run a column about the Knitted Knockers but wanted to make sure they could handle the demand.  Orders for 250 knitted knockers per hour were placed.  The email was shut down by 9am.  By the end of the day 10,000 orders were placed.  They filled all orders.

Dear Abby ran a follow up this last Sunday to do an update on where Knitted Knockers are today. 

Knitted Knockers were invited to have a booth at the Mariners Stitch and Pitch event. An ESPN reporter covered them as a story.  He asked if they ever applied for the Seahawks charity of the month.  The reporter applied for them and they were chosen in the month of October 2016.  They received 100 public service announcements that ran throughout the Puget Sound.  Being chosen gave them a really big push. 

Barb estimates they have sent out 50,000 knitted knockers.   If you can knit or crochet register at knittedknockers.org to help.  Spread the word on social media.  Please also donate.

There is a bad stigma about breast cancer in Africa.  The group was invited to go to Rwanda.  They trained 30 women on how to create the Knitted Knockers.  The media covered the story nationally.  They were invited to meet with the Minister of Health and now there is a second mammogram machine in the country.  They were invited to meet with the head of the largest hospital.  He agreed the hospital would pay the local women to make the knockers.  The hospital gives them away free. 

Barb wouldn’t have changed getting breast cancer.  She has found passion and purpose in her life and is grateful to help other women.  Both sides benefit from making the knockers.