Middle of the Map FAQ! 🗺
🗺 faqs, fun facts + tips!📍
General Info
Release Date
Sunday, April 20th at 7pm Mountain Time
Turnaround Time
Your order will ship 12-20 weeks (July 19th-September 13th) after being placed! However, it is important to note that this is the absolute latest that your order will ship. We start shipping preorder yarn about 4 weeks into dyeing so that we're able to move yarn through the studio, making it more likely that you receive your order in a shorter turnaround timeframe.
Shipping
we automatically combine orders if you place more than one during the preorder - this is automatic so no need to email us asking us to do so
all shipping overages over $5 will be refunded
we ship orders as they become ready, so depending on what you order and when we dye it, you could get it well before the stated turnaround time
if you need to change your shipping address, you must email our shipping manager, Rachel, at ekfship@gmail.com so we can update it in our shipping system!
Love Tax
As of June 2024, we have updated our Anti-Fat Tax (Love Tax) policy. Going forward, our Love Tax discount will be 15% off orders of 7+ skeins of any colorway/base that are intended to be used for a single project with the discount code ANTI-FAT TAX.
We ask that you put Love Tax-eligible yarn (e.g. an 8-skein sweater quantity) in an order separate from yarn that the discount does not apply to (e.g. a sock set). We automatically combine orders and refund all shipping overages over $5!
Any kit with 7+ skeins is eligible for our 15% Anti-Fat Tax (Love Tax) discount with the code ANTI-FAT TAX KITS. Please place your Love Tax-eligible kits in an order separate from any Love Tax-eligible non-kit yarn AND any Love Tax-ineligible yarn. We automatically combine orders and refund all shipping overages over $5!
This system will only work if we have trust between each other and faith that only those that actually need the code use it. If we have fears that people are taking advantage of this inclusivity discount we will find another way to implement it for those who need it.
Bases Offered
Suri Alpaca ($29): 74% Baby Suri Alpaca, 26% Mulberry Silk • lace weight • 328 yards (300 meters) per 50g
Cashmere Caverns Sock ($30): 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Nylon, 10% Cashmere • fingering weight • 4-ply • 435 yards (398 meters) per 100g
Denali Sock ($29): • 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon • fingering weight • 2-ply • 400 yards (366 meters) per 100g
Denali Sock 50g ($15): 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon • fingering weight • 2-ply • 200 yards (183 meters) per 50g
Denali Sock Mini ($8): 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon • fingering weight • 2-ply • 80 yards (73 meters) per 20g
Earthy Sock ($30): 100% Non-Superwash Merino • fingering weight • 4-ply • 436 yards (399 meters) per 100g
Earthy Sock Mini ($8): 100% Non-Superwash Merino • fingering weight • 4-ply • 87 yards (80 meters) per 20g
Linen Sock ($30): 80% Non-Superwash Merino, 20% Linen • fingering weight • 4-ply • 437 yards (400 meters) per 100g • 18.5 microns
Tweed Sock ($29): 85% Superwash Merino, 15% Donegal Nep • fingering weight • 2-ply • 438 yards (401 meters) per 100g
new! Teton Sport ($29): 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon • sport weight • 3-ply • 328 yards (300 meters) per 100g
Rockies DK ($29): 100% Superwash Merino • DK weight • 8-ply • 274 yards (251 meters) per 100g
Rockies DK 50g ($15): 100% Superwash Merino • DK weight • 8-ply • 136 yards (124 meters) per 50g
Cashmere DK ($30): 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Nylon, 10% Cashmere • DK weight • 4-ply • 231 yards (211 meters) per 100g
Earthy DK ($30): 100% Non-Superwash Merino • DK weight • 4-ply • 246 yards (225 meters) per 100g • 26 microns
new! Linen DK ($30): 80% Non-Superwash Merino, 20% Linen • DK weight • 4-ply • 231 yards (211 meters) per 100g • 18.5 microns
Bouclé DK ($31): 100% Superwash Merino • DK weight • single ply • 240 yards (219 meters) per 100g
Tweed DK ($29): 85% Superwash Merino, 15% Donegal Nep • DK weight • 4-ply • 231 yards (211 meters) per 100g
Carlsbad Worsted ($29): 100% Superwash Merino • worsted weight • 4-ply • 218 yards (199 meters) per 100g
Colorways Offered
Red Rocks | Switchbacks | Trailhead
Alpenglow | Bluebird Day | Paint Mines
Rocky Mountain National Park | Leaf Peeping | Rocky Mountain High
Bainbridge Island | Sequim | Gum Wall
Olympic National Park | Rain Shadow | Snoqualmie
Flock | Pike Place | Puget Sound
Lady Liberty | Brooklyn Brownstone | Metropolitan
City That Never Sleeps | Concrete Jungle | Skyline
Upstate | Central Park Bench | Staten Island Ferry
Sets Offered
tonal full skein sets
type
The Colorado Palette
The New York Palette
The Seattle Palette
The Entire Middle of the Map Palette
bases
Suri Alpaca Lace — Denali Sock — 50g Denali Sock – Cashmere Sock — Earthy Sock (NSW) – Linen Sock (NSW) — Tweed Sock — new! Teton Sport — Rockies DK — 50g Rockies DK – Cashmere DK – Earthy DK (NSW) — Tweed DK — Bouclé DK — Carlsbad Worsted
variegated full skein sets
type
The Entire Middle of the Map Palette
bases
Suri Alpaca Lace — Denali Sock — Cashmere Sock — Earthy Sock (NSW) — new! Teton Sport — Rockies DK — Cashmere DK — Earthy DK (NSW) — Carlsbad Worsted
mini sets
type
The Colorado Palette
The New York Palette
The Seattle Palette
The Entire Middle of the Map Palette
bases
Denali Sock
Earthy Sock
sock sets
Single Mini Sock Set
(our classic version — 100g variegated skein + 20g tonal mini skein)
Double Mini Sock Set
(100g variegated skein + two 20g tonal mini skeins!!)
bases
Denali Sock
Earthy Sock
entire collection full skein sets
type
The Colorado Palette
The New York Palette
The Seattle Palette
The Entire Middle of the Map Palette
bases
Suri Alpaca Lace — Denali Sock — 50g Denali Sock – Cashmere Sock — Earthy Sock (NSW) – Linen Sock (NSW) — Tweed Sock — new! Teton Sport — Rockies DK — 50g Rockies DK – Cashmere DK – Earthy DK (NSW) — Tweed DK — Bouclé DK — Carlsbad Worsted
Kits Offered
We will be offering yarn kits for some of our favorite patterns for the collection launch! Friendly reminder: These kits are only for the yarn – to get the pattern you will need to purchase it directly from the designer in the links provided!
Stripe Hype Sweater
Veronika Lindberg
With its endless color combinations and quick-knit addicting stripes, it is impossible to over-hype the Stripe Hype Sweater! EKF's version beautifully highlights Seattle's tonals and gives off all the perfectly cozy cool vibes only the Pacific Northwest can ✨🐋🌲🌊❤️
But SURPRISE!! We are also offering Stripe Hype Sweater Kits for the New York 🚕 and Colorado 🏔️ tonals because we just can't get enough!
The sweater begins by working the back flat, then stitches are picked up for the left and right front separately and worked flat. The back and front are then joined together and the body is worked in the round. Stitches are picked up for the sleeves and worked in the round and lastly stitches are picked up around the neckline and the collar is worked in a twisted rib stitch.
Stripe Hype Sweater on Ravelry
Floe Jumper
Weichien Chan (Saskie&Co.)
The Floe Jumper is inspired by the many colors of a sunny arctic winter day! In using colorways from different Middle of the Map regions, we hope to highlight the many colors of some of our favorite places and how, even though they are different, those colors pair together beautifully to create something truly special and unique 💖
This boxy top-down jumper is knitted in the round and features a seamless construction and stranded yoke. It comes in ten adult sizes with customization options for body length, sleeve length, and bust shaping.
Westward Sweater
Tayler Harris
The Westward is the easy, incredibly cool-vibe sweater you didn't know you needed but now cannot live without. Whether grabbing a pint at one of Colorado's many local breweries or glamping in the mountains with friends, the Westward is there to keep you warm and looking effortless!
The Westward is worked from the top down. The back and front yokes are worked flat, then joined in the round to work the body to the hem. Sleeve stitches are picked up around the armhole and worked in the round. Mockneck stitches are picked up around the neckline and worked in the round. Garter stitch selvedge stitches are worked at each side of the flat sections.
DRK Everyday Sweater
Andrea Mowry
The DRK Everyday Sweater is truly meant for every day. This sweater was designed to be your new wardrobe staple and a piece with thoughtful details you can reach for again and again ❤️
The DRK (DreaReneeKnits) Everyday Sweater is knit from the top down (meaning you can try it on as you go and add length to suit your own personal style!), beginning with the collar. You will separate the sleeves placing them on hold while the body is finished and then the sleeves are returned to the needle, picking up stitches for the underarm for a totally seamless sweater!
DRK Everyday Sweater on Ravelry
Polina Pullover
Teti Lutsak
The Polina Pullover is the designer Teti's love letter to their Ukrainian cultural heritage and a piece deeply inspired by the Ukrainian self-taught painter, Polina Raiko, who covered her home in enamel-painted drawings of fantastic birds and flowers and interpretations of her dreams and life. If you choose the Polina Pullover, may your own dreams be knit into every stitch ✨🦜🌷💭
The Polina pullover is knit top-down in the round with a large botanical colourwork pattern on the yoke and a smaller one on the body and sleeves. The pattern also comes with three neck options: ruffled mock, double folded and a regular crew neck.
Playful Palette Sweater
Veronika Lindberg
Expect cheerful motifs and fun in every colorwork stitch if you choose to knit the Playful Palette Sweater! With its relaxed fit, bold design, and color mixing potential, this sweater is sure to brighten your day and tempt the needles of those new to colorwork and seasoned knitters alike! 🌈✨
Playful Palette Sweater on Ravelry
Tuskaft Vest
Sara Ottosson
The Tuskaft Vest is the perfect blend of pretty, preppy, and (most importantly) plaid! Its the vest you'll want to throw over a collared button-down and jeans to get lost in the stacks of the flagship New York Public Library or fall into the pages of your favorite book while sipping the best cup of coffee in town. Will you meet the love of your life while wearing it? Who knows... 💕💘
Duotone
Rachel Costello
EKF is going from New York City to Seattle with the Duotone Sweater! Using two different colors, one in sock weight and the other lace, this is the perfect pattern to combine two of the places you love into one uniquely beautiful piece 🏙✈️🏞
Duotone is a modified drop-shoulder sweater with a relaxed, cozy fit that is knit in the round, from the bottom up, holding two yarns together. Slipped stitches, worked only in a single yarn, at the centre front and back and down the sleeves, mimic an i-cord and create a bold, crisp contrast to the marled, glowing fabric. These faux i-cords are worked in-place (no intarsia or sewing!) and, along with your choice of trims in the same, single colour, create maximum dual contrast in both colour and texture.
Ariana Cardigan
Amy Christoffers
Ariana turns the typical granny square cardigan on its side! Finished off with knitted button bands and cuffs, this eye-catching beauty offers a knit/crochet crossover that's a match made in fiber heaven 💋🧶
Amiata Pullover
Nomad Stitches
The Amiata Pullover honors both the majestic landscapes surrounding iconic volcanoes and the human body with meticulous details woven into the design to truly promote size inclusivity. So whether you're adventuring in the Cascades mountain range or going to brunch in the city, this crochet beauty will always be the perfect fit ❤️🌋
Amiata is made top-down with a drop-shoulder construction and has perfectly fitted shoulders to eliminate excess fabric around the underarms. The pullover features a textured and airy stitch that is light yet warm, a wide oversized fit, tapered sleeves and a split high-low hem; all finished with an elegant ribbing. What sets Amiata apart is its commitment to size inclusivity ensuring that the shoulder drops gracefully in the same spot for all makers, irrespective of their size.
Luna Tee
Charissa
The Luna Tee is your wardrobe's new favorite top with its elegant construction, high neckline (perfect for showing off those layered necklaces!), and figure flattering vertical lines created by knitting in broken rib. With multiple modifications for the perfect fit, you'll be reaching for the Luna Tee again and again ✨🌙
The Luna Tee is knit from the top down in the round in broken rib with raglan increases. The pattern includes multiple modifications so you can adjust the length and taper the sleeves and waist for a more fitted look or work them straight for a looser fit.
Salty Days Sweater
Veronika Lindberg
While the Salty Days Sweater is inspired by Portugal's salt fields and the salt flakes' intricate patterns and textures, this sweater would not go amiss strolling Seattle's boardwalk or visiting Ballard Locks to see the boats coming and going, watch the harbor seals play, or witness the salmon run! ⛴🌊🦭🐟
This sweater is worked top down and has a dropped shoulder with extra-long sleeves for a feminine and cozy look. The work begins by shaping the back yoke flat while increasing for the shoulder seams, then stitches are picked up from the right and left shoulder for the front yoke. The front and back yokes are then joined together and worked in the round for the body. Stitches are picked up for the sleeves and worked in the round, and lastly stitches are picked up for the double-folded collar.
SportTee
Park Williams
Cool, cropped, casual, subtly sporty, we are ready for anything when wearing the SportTee! This drop sleeve t-shirt is knit from the top down with short row shaping for the shoulders & sleeves, a folded-over mock neck and matching folded hems for the sleeves and body. The end result is a relaxed, easy-to-wear, comfy, cute SportTee!
Velvet Moss Vest
Isabella Clark
The Velvet Moss Vest is made for cold rainy days, autumnal weather, and winter crisp in the air. It's woven herringbone look takes inspiration from moss-blanketed trees and practically begs to be worn while adventuring in the old-growth forests of the Adirondacks 🌲🏔
The Velvet Moss Vest is worked flat sideways - starting at the wearer's left underarm and working increases and decreases along to top edge to create the shape of the garment. The front and back is all worked flat as one piece, then is seamed using mattress stitch to the beginning of the cast on in the underarm. Then stitches are picked up around both armholes, the neckline, and the hem to complete all the rib finishing in the round.
Friendship Pullover
Aimee Sher
The Friendship Pullover, with its many crisscrossing and interconnected cables, lives up to its name. Originally designed by Aimee Sher for Flock Fiber Festival, this beautifully cabled sweater symbolizes the "tight-knit" nature of our knitting (and crochet and fiber!) community. What better pattern for an impromptu KAL with a good friend or new buddy?! Let's celebrate friendship! Celebrate connection ❤️
The Friendship Pullover features an alluring center cable panel flowing from ribbing at the hem, and into ribbing at the end. A tapered sleeve lends a sporty and modern vibe to this classic look while the optional fold-over funnel neckband makes it extra stylish. Alternately, the neckband can be knit as a standard crew or a full-length funnel.
Friendship Pullover on Ravelry
City Lights
Nomad Stitches
The City Lights Sweater is everything and more for all the crochet city lovers out there dreaming of strolling Manhattan in the rain to witness the busy beauty of those famous shining lights refracting in the water on the streets 🌃🚦⭐️
The City Lights Sweater is crocheted sideways in four pieces in a stitch that creates a ribbed look. The front and back panels begin at the side of the body with increases and decreases at one end to shape the raglan and neckline. The sleeves are shaped at both ends with large increases and decreases. With the RS facing, the hem edge of each piece will be on the right and the top shoulder edge on the left. The finished design gives a gorgeous streaking light effect!
Skyline Tee
Tori Yu
The Skyline Tee, thoughtfully designed by many-time EKF collaborator Tori Yu, embodies the essence of summer in the city with its alluring city skyline details!
The Skyline Tee is your new wardrobe essential featuring a top-down saddle shoulder construction with ribbing detail that starts at the neckline and flows seamlessly down the sleeves to the cuffs.
Forest Keys Vest
Teti Lutsak
The Forest Keys Vest is the perfect match for souls yearning for the woods and those who have always dreamed of having a secret key to the very heart of the forest 🌳🗝✨
This vest has a boxy generously oversized cropped fit with colorwork pattern pulled directly from traditional Ukrainian embroidery symbolizing the abundance of spruce trees. There are also small “forest keys” encoded into each of the pattern repeats with an additional pattern option for "spare keys" to choose from or even create your own.
The vest is worked top down, with back and fronts worked flat and then joined in the round for the body. All the edges are finished with applied i-cord. The pattern features three types of colorwork: stranded worked flat, in the round and intarsia, and is a treat for someone who loves colorwork or wants to master a new skill!
Any kit with 7+ skeins is eligible for our 15% Anti-Fat Tax (Love Tax) discount with the code ANTI-FAT TAX KITS. Please place your Love Tax-eligible kits in an order separate from any Love Tax-eligible non-kit yarn AND any Love Tax-ineligible yarn. We automatically combine orders and refund all shipping overages over $5!
All dyed-to-order (preorder) sales are final.
Non-Superwash Fun Facts
New to NSW? No worries! We all know how much I love our superwash bases, so this info is for those like me who haven't worked with non-superwash much and are curious to learn more about it! Here are some interesting facts and benefits:
regulates body temperature well (keeping the wearer not too hot/too cold) - hikers often use wool as insulating base layers/socks to keep dry while hiking
stitches bloom well and fill out when blocked (especially noticeable in colorwork projects) and don't stretch out (NSW garments have good memory)
moisture-wicking and more water-resistant than superwash yarns
more sustainably produced (minimally processed and non-resource-intensive to create)
appear less saturated than our superwash yarns, often looking like a more blended, lower-contrast version of the colorway (especially in variegated colorways)
Earthy Sock is very soft as non-superwash bases go, Earthy DK blooms beautifully and becomes even softer after blocking, and Linen Sock and Linen DK have a lovely heathered look in most tonal colorways. It is within the nature of non-superwash yarns to be much blendier than superwash yarns in variegated colors, often resulting in diffused, murkier shades (especially with darker colorways). Make sure to reference the photos of our NSW yarns on Instagram to see exactly how they will look!
Bouclé All Day
We are SO excited that you all have been loving our Bouclé DK base! A lot of people are just starting to use bouclé, so we asked one of our lovely sample knitters, Megan, for some tips and tricks for your first time working with this yarn:
swatching with bouclé yarn is essential — because our Bouclé DK base is less elastic compared to our other DK bases, your bouclé gauge will likely be different than your non-bouclé gauge (our sample knitter knit swatches on US 2-6 to see the fabric the boucle creates on each size for our Port Sweater sample)
use markers — stitches in bouclé yarn are harder to read and tell apart, so having removable stitch markers for marking increases/decreases, etc. is recommended!
test out needle/hook styles — some makers prefer super sharp needles to get into the bouclé stitches easier and others prefer dull needles to prevent snagging the bouclé loops. Our sample knitter recommends trying both if you have the option when swatching!