Sitting at a table at Jocelyne Vuillemey’s residence in Valencia Thursday morning, Dinh Montané and Erika Pigot focused on creating heart-shaped pillows for mastectomy patients during the second annual “Solidarity Sewing Workshop.”
The goal? Between 250 to 300 pillows finished by the end of the day.
The pillow’s design was inspired by Janet Kramer-Mai, a breast-cancer specialist in Tennessee who underwent a mastectomy in 2002, and wanted to ensure comfortability under the arm for patients following the procedure.
As the month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Santa Clarita women wanted to contribute to the tradition in a crafty and compassionate way.
Due to the sensitive nature of the pillow, both physically and emotionally, the women must precisely measure the polyester fiber: Each pillow takes approximately 6 ounces, or 170 grams. A 5-pound box fills 13 pillows, calling for 23 pounds of fiber to ensure that all 300 pillows are completed.
The trio, who met through a French-speaking Facebook group, were inspired to help Pigot, who had moved to Santa Clarita in May 2024.
“I met these ladies through a Facebook group called Café Françoise (French Cafe) who meet every Wednesday for coffee and speak French or keep up with the culture. I’m a breast cancer survivor. It’s nice to give back,” Montané said. “The idea came from an American doctor, and [Erika] learned about it through another French lady in Senegal. This is the sixth year that she’s done it.”
Pigot, who had lived in Senegal for five years, took up sewing more seriously as COVID-19 became prominent.
“Last year, I knew five people, and we made 150 hearts. This year we said, ‘We’ll [have] a challenge. When I was in Senegal, we made 500 masks in one month because [they needed it] right away,” Pigot said. “When the women [undergo] surgery, they have an incision on the side. So it’s a lot of pressure, and it’s painful.”
Vuillemey, who also took up sewing during the COVID-19 pandemic, was self-taught and even made 250 masks for a Native American reservation in Arizona.
“I didn’t have a background in [sewing]. We are planning to make 300 pillows because the center here does [approximately] 300 mastectomies per year. Erika and I [mostly] bought the fabric, and we started [cutting out the pattern] at the beginning of the month,” Vuillemey said.
With the intention of donating the pillows to Sheila R. Veloz Breast Center at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, the women have goals of expanding as time goes on — by donating to other local centers in the years to come.
