Compiled Embroidery Skill Articles

10/28/2016 Hat Tricks
oiling it. Although time consuming, this is a necessary step, especially when working
with white or light­colored products.
Flat­Bill Caps (Snapbacks)
You can embroider a standard 2½" x 6" design in the center front of a flat­bill cap.
The biggest issue with these caps occurs during production when the bills are bent.
Solution: There are no preventative measures for this problem other than being
careful. Have your trimmers straighten the cap bills. Although time consuming, it’ s
the best remedy.
Visors
Visors have more limited space for embroidery — usually about 1¼ inches tall —
and the ideal location is in the front center where they are the tallest.
The maximum design width generally is 4­4½ inches. The sides of most visors will
only allow embroidery less than 1 inch tall and the back can’t be embroidered at all.
The crown height and curve of a visor should be taken into account when sizing the
design. For example, a visor with a crown height of 2¼ inches tall would best fit a
logo 1¼ inches tall. This would leave ½­inch at the bottom and ½­inch at the top.
Solution: In your production process, allow for time to modify the customer ’s design
so that you know you can produce a quality result and satisfy the customer . Prior to
taking the job, have your art department work with your customer to adjust the
design. There is no point in taking an order that can’t be produced properly .
Small lettering or detailed designs simply may not work well on visors due to the
small embroidery area. If the design won’t work, try to find another hat that will work
or walk away from the order. It’s not worth the risk of producing a less­than­quality
result.
Five­, Six­Panel Caps
You can embroider on all four sides of these hats. Many five­panel caps have mesh
on the sides and a tearaway backing is recommended when embroidering on mesh
for best results. They also have a foam­front panel that creates an issue with
embroidery burying into the foam.
Screen printing is a great alternative, but some clients prefer embroidery .
Solution: Always use a thin font and no fine details in the design. Six­panel caps
have a seam running down the center . You can embroider right over it as you
commonly do with no loss of quality.
Additionally, designs on a five­panel cap may be sewn slightly of f­center without
being readily visible. On six­panel hats, where there is a center seam, designs even
slightly off­center may be visually disturbing. Some designs that are weighted to
one side or the other must be placed where they are graphically pleasing.
Examples include italic fonts or images where there is a small element protruding
off to the side of the main part of the logo. The letter “M” with a feather hanging of f
the side of the letter would cause a problem.
When centering on the entire design, including the feather , the center line of the M
would not line up on the center seam of the cap. In these rare cases, center points
must be adjusted off­center to give the appearance that the design is centered.
Structured/Unstructured Hats
There are two general categories of baseball caps: structured and unstructured.
The structured cap has a stif fer supportive fabric called buckram inside the front
two panels that helps the cap to hold its shape or “spring back” if folded or
crumpled. An unstructured cap means there are no support panels in the front two
panels. Unstructured and structured caps have a maximum embroidery space in
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