Knitting Industry supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  BCAM is an annual international health campaign organized by major charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research.  The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer, as well as providing a platform for breast cancer charities to raise awareness of their work to prevent the disease.  Breast Cancer touches so many lives, 1 in 8 women in the U.S.will continue to be diagnosed with breast cancer.  Fortunately, there are 2.5 million cancer survivors alive in the U.S.today.

Millions of dollars are raised every year through the help of corporate sponsors. Last year Bernat® introduced a line of yarn called the Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection.  Bernat® donated $10,000 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® through the purchase of this yarn.  Bernat® again is donating $10,000 in 2010 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® foundation through the purchase of this yarn collection.  Check out the limited time Bernat® yarns in the Breast Cancer collection and the new free patterns at Bernat®.

Mary Maximalso has several free patterns and items for sale with a portion of each "Think Pink" item sold donated to breast cancer research. A new book of patterns by Nicky Epstein titled “Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch” contains ideas for gifts.  Also included in this book is a comprehensive list of charities that will accept your knitted or crocheted items.

Classic Elite Yarnsoffers a Breast Cancer Awareness Scarf free pattern for download.  This scarf is made with Wool Bam Boo yarn, so very soft and pretty in the Watermelon shade.

Knitty.com Special Edition  A special printable issue of Knitty was made possible by the efforts of Moreno, Jenna, Amy Swenson, Stephannie Roy and Theresa Vinson Stenersen.  Because they all believe in awareness as a powerful tool to help fight breast cancer, these five talented women have generously given permission for their work in this mini-issue to be distributed freely, in print or electronically.

Support of Brest Cancer charities does not come only from large corporations. On a smaller scale, shop owners at Etsy, like Sharon Spence and Cindi Miller Herleman, are donating to Breast Cancer charities.  During October 2010, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sharon’s Etsy shop -Stitchjones - will donate a portion of the sale of all pink yarn and fiber to Komen for the Cure.  Cindi’s shop, CMH Designs, is donating 10% of the sale of any BC Buddy or pink knit hat to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  Other Etsy shop owners have designated portions of their sales to also support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

 Please take time to look through their shops