Onesie Off cut Creations - Macmillan Breast Buddy Cushions

Volunteers from the Macmillan Information Centre at Bishop Auckland Hospital and their friends from Tursdale and Hett WI have had a very busy day making Breast Buddy cushions for mastectomy patients.

The cushions offer a comfortable support under the arm to ease the area of surgery, particularly when sitting or driving.

Using materials donated by The All in One Company, Ashington, and other generous supporters, the volunteers busily machined, stuffed and stitched lots of cushions to be distributed free through the local Macmillan Information Centres and Macmillan Nurses.

"The positive feedback we have had from clients has been amazing," said centre manager Bernadette Measures. "One lady told us she had become so attached to her cushion during her recovery that even after all treatment had finished she still took it to bed like a security blanket. We are very grateful to the stitchers, who have made over 200 cushions since their project began."

The Macmillan centres help people who need information about cancer - or just someone to talk to, whether they are a carer, a relative or personally affected. A welfare rights officer for the charity attends weekly to give advice by arrangement on finances and benefits available to patients. Appointments are also available, with a specialised bra fitter, for women who have undergone breast surgery, and there are scarves and headwear for those who have lost their hair due to treatment, plus the Breast Buddy cushions.

They were also kind enough to send us a lovely little thank you card -  We are delighted to see our offcuts going towards something so special!

We donate bags of our offcut fabrics to schools, charities, and organisations, but you can order your very own bag of our offcuts on our website - there are 3 bag sizes to choose from!

What will you create?