# The best hats/caps for embroidery



## hagani (Aug 4, 2013)

Hello everyone,

I am new to an embroidery service, we have been in business of dry cleaning, tailoring and alterations for over 16 years.

Recently we decided to add an embroidery to the list of services we provide. For the starters we bought Babylock 6-needle machine.

My question would be what's the best - brandwise and modelwise - baseball caps/hats for an embroidery?? On what cap - structured/unstructured/5panels/6panels/flexfit/etc - I will achive the best results?

Thanks in advance to everyone for their input


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## latitude42 (Sep 26, 2007)

structured seem to sew out better cause there is less movement... as for brand... don't think that makes a difference as to how the embroidery looks, but you can tell the difference of the quality of the hat itself


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## jimcr (Feb 3, 2009)

Quality hats do make a big difference on how the end product looks, Ottocap , outdoor cap , kc caps , all good stuff but you have to decide which ones to use. Like the previous poster structured caps sew and look better in my opinion, some like unstructured . In the end the customer is boss so you need to learn both. get a few different caps and sew out the same design and see how it looks to you. A 5 panel hat will look different than a 6 panel . Fitted caps vs Velcro . 

What will limit you is the field you can sew with that machine, 2 x 5 I think as I have the same machine except mine is branded Brother. Make sure that when your design is digitized its done for caps .


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## BidsMaven (Sep 23, 2011)

Set up an account with a wholesale supplier for your hats. Take your pick...Otto specializes in hats but SanMar or Broder would be a good choice as well. Then, call whoever it is you select and ask to speak to your sales rep and have them talk you thorough their catalog. Make use of the sales reps. They're usually great folks and very willing to help educate about what they have to offer.


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Customers will generally request all types of hats. As you would expect, if they want a low profile, unconstructed style you probably won't be able to persuade them to pick another type. I've had good results with both unconstructed and structured when the hat fits my cap frame. By "fit" I mean there isn't any extra room between the frame and hat. Its that extra room that can lead to broken needles and poor registration. If you have some proctice time you might want to purchase a few different types of hats to see what works for you. Each vendor can tell you what styles are their best sellers so I would start with those and keep a list of how each hat embroiders. Most people want 6 panel hats. Five panel hats are really for screen printing but I have had requests for embroidery on those. Sometimes you'll get a design that will look better without the center seam (e.g. large fill in center) so a 5 panel hat may be the better choice. Needles are more likely to break on the center seam but with some knowledge and experience you shouldn't have any problems with caps. I suggest reading about caps on this forum to familarize yourself with some of the problems and solutions. I use SanMar caps. They have a wide selection for a general apparel vendor. If you provide a lot of caps you'll want to check out the "caps-only" cap vendors.


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## buehrle (Jan 14, 2008)

look at pacific hats also. i only use otto and pacific. both are quality but otto is a bit cheaper (price and quality). each has there own place.


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## Hugo888 (Apr 14, 2020)

How much did you pay for a cap?


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## Veteran (Feb 23, 2018)

I get my hats/caps from Jiffy Shirts. They sell from $2.50 up, no quantities required. However, you do get what you pay for. Ensure you check your Babylock manual and the cap frame manual. They will tell you what types of hats you can use with your machine and frame. You will be limited with the 6 needle but it's do-able with good results if you use the caps listed by your machine/cap frame. I have two Brother 10 needles but have worked my way up from the 6 needles over the years. Brother and Babylock are exactly alike.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Veteran said:


> I get my hats/caps from Jiffy Shirts.



Why are you overpaying for hats using a retail website? Alpha/Broder is their wholesale arm.


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## Hugo888 (Apr 14, 2020)

I just checked it out. It is blank caps. Normal that it costs so less. I meant how about a custom cap? like with a big embroidery.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Hugo888 said:


> I just checked it out. It is blank caps. Normal that it costs so less. I meant how about a custom cap? like with a big embroidery.



Why are you asking like you don't already know? You are with a cap company. I've just deleted some of your self-promotion posts.

Don't play games here please.


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