Teesside ladies stich a colourful bra quilt in memory of a treasured sister lost to breast cancer

When Sue Hall wanted to do something different to commemorate her sister-in-law Jackie Finch, she came up with the idea of raffling a unique bra quilt, subsequently raising hundreds of pounds.

As Sue, from Billingham, Teesside, explains: "I'm not a runner, or a mountain walker, nor any kind of athlete, but after losing my sister-in-law to breast cancer around four years ago I started to wonder, what could I do to try and give something back?" 
 
Even today, Sue tears up at when speaking about Jackie, so it was a few years before she could even think about doing something that would be a fitting tribute.  
 
"I knew that whatever I did would bring really bring back loads of memories of Jackie, so I waited a while until I could do it," she explains. "I couldn't do it straight away. It was difficult. It brings back memories, doesn't it?" 

Getting crafty for breast cancer prevention 
 
One skill that Sue has is sewing, and she and her friends are avid crafters. So, together, they looked for things they could make. Going online, Sue found a support group bra quilt pattern, designed by Lori Holt for Bee in my Bonnet Co.  
 
"I think it was Lori's intention to make the pattern for people to raise funds for breast cancer," continues Sue. "So, I got the pattern, and the group decided we would all make a part of the quilt. My intention was to give one bra to each person – because there are that many bras in the pattern, but then the first two people I gave it to made three bras straight off. In the end, just the three of us – Jan, Ellie and me – worked on the quilt." 
 
It was quite an undertaking, with the quilt needing almost four meters of fabric for the background and borders, and almost the same amount for the backing. On top of that, the 12 bras took up yet more fabric, needing 12 fat quarters and 9 fat eighths (Fat quarters each measure around 50cm x 55cm, while fat eighths are around 25cm x 55cm). 
 

"We were lucky with the material though," Sue adds. "One of our friends, Anne, gifted the material for the backing as her husband was poorly, so she didn't have time to make any of the bras. And Bernie, from The Sewing Corner, gave me a massive discount on fabric when she knew what we were making and for what cause. And, of course, as we're all crafters, we have mountains of material! So, we all got together and made these bras from all that assorted fabric. You cut the pieces out together and it makes the bra. There are different types of bra styles, and the assortment of materials meant we had different skin tones. We just used what we had, and it worked out well. " 

A close-knit community 
 
The finished quilt was big enough to cover a double bed.  
 
Sue decided to raffle tickets for the quilt to raise the funds, but she faced a challenge. 
 
"I'm not very technology minded, so it was difficult selling raffle tickets. I'm sure there must be an easier way to get to people, maybe online or something. I just physically bought some raffle tickets and sold them to friends, family and neighbors around Billingham. But everybody was happy to buy and very disappointed that they didn't win the quilt – Anne Bell, who won the raffle, was over the moon! And we managed to raise more than £200 pounds."  
 
Sue notes that the crafters said they'd be happy to do it again, for such a good cause. 
 
"That's the thing: I think there's a lot of people who've been touched by cancer, whether themselves or through friends or family," she adds. "Two of my close friends both lost sisters to breast cancer. There's just so many people willing to support breast cancer prevention." 
 
Sue explains that when Jackie found she had breast cancer, she had the operation, went through chemo, and thought she was over it. And then it returned and spread.  
 
"She went for drug trials at Christie Hospital in Manchester, which worked at first, but then it caught hard," says Sue. "Jackie was just 63. She was so well looked after throughout her treatment. You just need to give something back, I think." 

If Sue’s story has inspired you to great creative to support Breast Cancer UK, simply click here to find out how you can get involved in your own fundraising effort, or email the team at info@breastcanceruk.org.uk to get started.