BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – For 15 years, Knitted Knockers has supported people impacted by breast cancer around the world.

The Whatcom County-based nonprofit was founded by Barbara Demorest, a cancer survivor who became one of the first people to use a “knitted knocker.”

In 2011, Demorest was diagnosed with breast cancer and was told that she needed a mastectomy. Through that process, she found herself with a brochure for traditional breast prosthetics and learned that many women do not enjoy wearing the silicone-based products.

“They can be hot, sticky, you can’t wear them for a long time,” Demorest said. “But my doctor asked me if I knit, and that he had heard of this thing called a knitted knocker.”

A friend of Demorest came to her aid and found a pattern for the knocker online, making the first batch of knitted knockers she had ever seen. The two were at Sunday church at the time, and Demorest took the knitted knockers into the restroom and tried them for herself.

Right away, Demorest was amazed at the softness, comfort and weight of the knitted knocker.

“I know it sounds dramatic, but it changed my life,” Demorest said. “Barb was back. It wasn’t Barb with cancer, it was Barb now.”

She left the church that day knowing that she needed to get this product available in medical offices for other women going through the same things she was.

Word got out quickly, and within a short period of time, these Knitted Knockers were in demand across the region. Soon after, a website was built and people around the U.S. began ordering these prosthetic breast alternatives.

Since then, Knitted Knockers have been shipped worldwide to homes and medical offices. With a team of volunteers running the operations in Whatcom County, Demorest knew she needed to expand her network as orders grew larger and larger each month.

At the time of publishing, Knitted Knockers has volunteers around the U.S. knitting or crocheting knockers and sending them to the headquarters in Whatcom County. There, the knockers are filled with a lightweight material and shipped at no cost to those who need them.

Demorest has travelled to knitting conventions around the U.S. to spread the word and get other knitters and crocheters to volunteer their time to make Knitted Knockers. To make it easier for volunteers, Knitted Knockers has a downloadable pattern to follow on their website that has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times.

Keeping Knitted Knockers free of charge has been a key point for Demorest, making this an accessible option for breast cancer patients and survivors. According to Demorest, over 2,400 medical offices around the U.S. are in a network of providers who offer Knitted Knockers to cancer patients.

Each month, the nonprofit ships out over 12,000 knockers, totaling over 1,000,000 all-time, not including international shipments.

Demorest and a small team of volunteers traveled to Rwanda to show cancer patients there how to create their own Knitted Knockers. This trip was eye-opening for Demorest, as she was moved by the immediate impact the team had in an area where cancer treatment is not as advanced as in the U.S.

In Whatcom County, the volunteers at Knitted Knockers meet weekly to keep the nonprofit going.

For more information about Knitted Knockers and to find ways to volunteer or donate, head to their website at knittedknockers.org.

We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.