Purple is the color for FMS awareness, and the butterfly was adopted as a symbol for Fibromyalgia Syndrome because people with FMS tend to have increased sensitivities to touch. Sometimes, the lightest touch, like that of a butterfly, can cause physical pain. Touch is not the only sensory sensitivity- FMS can also cause sensitivity to sound, taste, sight, and emotions. Mentally, FMS causes what is often referred to as a “fibro fog,” causing sufferers to seem flighty. If you’d like to learn more about Fibromyalgia, www.fmaware.org is a great resource.

I designed this mandala for the FMS Hope Mandala project. Jane Balke Anderson (a.k.a. Queen Babs) is going to be covering a tree in Sydney, Australia with purple mandalas to help raise awareness for Fibromyalgia in May 2015. You can learn about this project, as well as other yarn bombs that Jane and her group have done, at http://yarnbombersunited.weebly.com.

I used 4 colors of worsted weight (Red Heart Super Saver) yarn and an H hook. Finished size as made for the pattern was 11 inches in diameter. Gauge is unimportant, but will affect finished size. You will need a minimum of two colors of your choice of yarn (and corresponding hook), but can use as many as you want. You can make all the butterflies different colors, or all the same. It’s up to you!

The butterflies are joined by slip stitching to the rounds below and to each other. No sewing required! They can also be used separately as embellishments for other projects.