Handmade products give a feeling of security

Mützenladys Petra Minks, Ellen Nürnberger and Grit Albrecht

Around 15 women from Chemnitz and the surrounding area combine their passion for handicrafts with a good cause: the Chemnitz Mützenladys knit, crochet and sew on a voluntary basis for people with cancer. In this interview, the organisers of the week, Petra Minks, Ellen Nürnberger and Grit Albrecht, tell us what motivates them and what fates they encounter in the process.

What motivates you to spend many hours of your free time making hats, drainage bags and cushions for people with cancer?

Petra Minks: It's simply a matter close to our hearts. We want to put a smile on the faces of those affected.

Grit Albrecht: It gives us the good feeling of being able to help. Everyone knows someone who has experienced cancer. On the other hand, we all enjoy sewing, knitting and crocheting. It's nice to be able to do this for others too.


Mrs Minks, you started the whole thing here in Chemnitz. How did it come about?

Petra Minks: The Onkomützen group is an interest group that was founded four years ago in Rheine in Westphalia by mostly affected people. There are now more than 5000 members throughout Germany. We form the Saxony regional group. Through my work as an X-ray assistant at the MVZ Chemnitz at the time, a friend asked me to make contact with the centre. She had heard about the group. The contact with the haematology department at the hospital was immediately great. That's how I joined at the end of 2019. Today, we supply the whole of Saxony and receive enquiries from all over Germany. In addition to private individuals who contact us on Facebook, we regularly supply around 20 to 25 clinics.


How big is the group here in Chemnitz?

Petra Minks: We are 15 women - they live in Chemnitz, Wolkenstein and even Rostock. The youngest is 34, the oldest 86. Each has her own task, one sews, the other knits. Unfortunately, I don't get to do it myself, I answer all the enquiries, I've taken over the organisation and I still work full time. We meet here at my house every fortnight and pack around 300 hats. Every week we collect around 15 parcels, which my husband then takes to the post office. It only works together.

Grit Albrecht: When we meet here every fortnight, we put in four or five hours. But it's fun and we laugh a lot.

Petra Minks: The parcels should always look nice, so we also include a card and sometimes a sweet for the children. We don't just work under the Onkomütze umbrella, but are also active as Chemnitz Mützenladys. For example, we made little comforters for children after the floods in Arltal and sent out parcels with crayons and colouring books for the start of school. A few weeks ago, we visited a care home and donated wheelchair blankets.


How should the hats be made? What kind of fabric, what kind of wool?

Ellen Nürnberger: It must not be scratchy, that is very important. We also don't use second-hand fabrics, after all, it's for cancer patients. The sewn hats are mostly made from jersey fabric, which is nice and stretchy. And with the crocheted hats, it is very important that the holes are not too big. After all, they are supposed to protect you from the sun, and the scalp is very sensitive without hair.


What other products do you make?

Petra Minks: Hats - knitted, crocheted, sewn. Plus headbands and bandanas. And heart cushions: They have longer ears and can be tucked under the armpits for sleeping. This is a great relief for women who have had breast surgery. Port pillows work in a similar way.


What is it?

Ellen Nürnberger: If you are receiving chemotherapy, a port catheter is often inserted under the skin through which you receive the medication directly. The port cushion helps to prevent the bra strap or car seatbelt from pinching.

Petra Minks: And then there are the drainage bags. These are bags with a long strap that patients can use to go to the cafeteria or toilet during chemo without always having to take the infusion stand with them.

Ellen Nürnberger: Chemotherapy lasts several hours. And many people find the colour of the infusion difficult to bear, so they are happy if they can put it in their pocket.


What does it mean to people with cancer when they receive such products from you?

Ellen Nürnberger: It gives them the reassurance that they are not alone. That someone is there for them.

Petra Minks: The caps don't cure cancer. But they give them a sense of community.

Ellen Nürnberger: And show that they are not alone in their fight. This is a matter close to our hearts. We also put a lot of heart into every product.

Petra Minks: The caps are available in four or five different styles. Nevertheless, each one is individual because all the girls leave their own signature.


And how does it feel for you?

Ellen Nürnberger: My mum and my sister died of cancer. Many of us are affected or know cancer patients. As a relative, there's not much you can do, but here we get something back.

Petra Minks: Our entire lobby is full of thank-you cards, and these are just the ones from the past six months. You hear lots of stories. Some patients have been with us for years. You know their story, their family and you suffer and rejoice with them.

Grit Albrecht: And you know exactly where it's going. Our help really gets through. We experience a lot of gratitude. We can say to the other person: We feel for you.


Why do some cancer patients prefer to wear caps?

Ellen Nürnberger: Many don't want a wig. It's uncomfortable and often too warm in summer.

Petra Minks: Many people with hair loss don't want to be constantly asked about their illness, but want to deal with it normally. It also protects them from the heat and cold.


How do you finance this?

Petra Minks: The hats, heart cushions and all the other things for cancer patients are donated. On our Mützenladys page, however, we also organise various campaigns in which we offer homemade items such as hats, caps, triangular scarves and candles for a donation.


How else can people support you?

Petra Minks: We always need fabric and wool. But it also helps us a lot when someone covers the postage or pays for a stamp.


Do you sometimes see photos of the people you crochet or knit for?

Petra Minks: Yes. When we receive direct enquiries, we are often sent pictures of people wearing them or we receive photos from the clinics of the oncomats.


Do you also make hats for children?

Petra Minks: Yes, for the paediatric oncology departments in Erfurt, Hamburg, Chemnitz and Dresden, among others.


They experience many fates.

Petra Minks: Yes, and not just from patients. I remember one story that brought tears to my eyes. I was looking for fabric and someone on Facebook wanted to sell wool for 180 euros. So my husband and I travelled to Vogtland. We came to a new housing estate and two young men and their father were sitting in front of a door. The boxes contained wool and things their deceased mother had started. We didn't have enough money with us and I was supposed to start sorting things out. But I just couldn't do it. My father then said: Take everything with you, my wife would have wanted that. That was close to the limit. The father has since died, but the sons keep in touch with us. That's when you know you've done everything right.