The Baseball Cap Challenge
By Bonnie Nielson, Designer and
Digitizer
 The
Baseball Cap: The most popular item in the headwear industry! The
variety of styles and colors is endless. Learning to digitize and
embroider on finished caps can be frustrating at first and can create
some anxiety. After some experimentations and understanding on how to
work with this item, one can learn to cope with the challenges that come
with embroidering baseball caps.
Styles: There are many styles of ball caps. Maybe you will
have to try out a few styles and see which ones fit in the cap framing
system that you have for your machine. You will find that some styles
fit better and are easier to frame than others. Many of today's popular
cap styles are constructed with a low profile, which decreases the
height space for embroidery on the front side of the cap.
 Because
caps come in high and low profile constructions, the size of the design
is critical. If the design is too big for the low profile cap, when it
sews on the machine, as the cap driver moves higher up to the crown, the
arm of the machine is forced deeper inside of the cap. If the machine
arm touches the crown it will cause distortion in the embroidered
design. Caps that are made out of corduroy or other fabric that have a
pile may have to have more underlay stitching. The use of a topping when
sewing, will help the stitching to stand out clean and clear on top of
these fabrics after it is embroidered.
 Another
style of cap is the 6 panel construction. This means it has 6 panels
that make up the cap. This cap has a central seam in the front profile
of the cap where the panels connect. Depending on the design, this seam
can be another obstacle for the digitizer. The stitching must cross over
the seam and not fall into it and disappear. When possible, you can
punch underlay stitches like a zigzag stitch that crosses over the seam
to support the top stitching. On the cap, the center of the design must
be lined up with the seam of the cap in the middle. To help aid the
machine operators so that they know for sure if the placement is
correct, the digitizer can place the first few running stitches so that
it will be sewn into the middle of the seam. This again depends on the
design and where the elements fall on the cap front in connection with
the seam.
Digitizing: This is converting a design into an embroidery
machine readable format. Whenever possible, it is best to digitize
designs from the center, out, and in some cases from the brim, up. This
is the point where the visor and the body of the cap join. This keeps
the hat from wrinkling or forming waves and distorting in the circular
frame. You have to path your design differently than when you digitize
for other items. With the circular frame, if you digitize with one color
across the cap to the other side, then you change to the next color.
When you go back to the first side where you began the first color, you
may find your design to be out of registration because of the shifting
of the material. To prevent this shifting, it is best to complete small
areas one at a time, for instance lettering with outlines. Digitize the
letters and then change color and digitize the outline. In some cases,
depending on the size of the letters, you can digitize maybe two letters
and then outline them. This theory of digitizing one section and then
trapping it immediately with an outline is one that should be practiced
when designing for finished caps. This may seem like a lot of work with
more color changes and maybe even in some cases more trims, but in the
end it will result in quality embroidery.
A tip when digitizing large fill stitch areas: Do not end your fill
somewhere in the middle! You will risk the material pushing up between
the two sides of the fill, bulging up and sticking out between the
stitching. It is best to design the fill from the brim, up, in order to
push the material up away from the brim.
The sample prepared for this article is a design that was made with
Madeira 3D foam. The design is broken down into several stages to
demonstrate how this design was digitized.
Design Surf Monster
Step 1: The fill was digitized starting with the small parts
inside the design and then the rest of the fill, working left to right.
Step 2: The outline around the fill was digitized from the center
out first, the right side and then the left side.
Step 3: The letters were digitized from the center out,
starting with the U, then R, then F and then S. In this case, the
lettering had to be done all in one step because of the foam layer.
Step 4: The outline around the letters was digitized from the
center, out, starting with the R, and U, then the F and S.
Step 5: Next is the small lettering for the word MONSTER, and
then returning to the start point of the design.
Placement: Multiple placements have become popular over the years. With
the 270-degree cap frame the possibilities have increased, making it
easier to embroider the sides of the cap without having to re-hoop. When
placing the cap inside of the 270-degree frame, make sure to fold the
sweat band down. The metal strap of the frame must line up with the brim
and should form a straight line around the cap. Regardless of which type
of cap frame you use, make sure that the cap is sitting tight inside the
frame. This will prevent your design from looking crooked. The sides of
the cap are a nice place for small logos or a catchy phrase.
To embroider on the rear of the cap above the hole (also referred to as
the key hole) will require separate framing. For this you can use a 12
cm tubular frame. The placement above the key hole is nice for placing
text like website addresses or event names. The radius of the arcs above
the key hole is not the same for every cap. This opening will vary
between cap styles and brands. To find the arcs shape most digitizers
scan the rear of the cap to get the correct shape of the arc for the cap
they are designing for.
 Placing
embroidery text on the strap closure on the rear of the cap can also be
a bit tricky. Here the digitizer must know how wide and long the strap
is. To frame the strap you can use a 12 cm tubular hoop with a stick-on
backing. Before hooping the backing with the cap, first draw a line on
the backing. You also may want to place marks on the side of the hoop so
that when you are framing, you will have a guideline to make sure the
draw line on the backing is sitting straight inside the hoop. Next, hoop
the corner of the cap, along with the adhesive backing, where the strap
is connected to the cap; make sure that the strap is lined up correctly
on the draw line. Cut through the top layer of the adhesive backing and
peel the top layer away, leaving the sticky side exposed, then stick the
strap down.
Backing: Backing, like a heavy Tear Away, should be used on most caps.
It is stable and is easy to tear away after embroidering. When using the
270-degree frame, cut the backing into a large strip that will fit
inside the cap and will cover the insides of the cap down to its sides.
You may have to try out different weights of backings because not all
caps are the same: some may be softer and some more stiff.
If digitizing for caps is new to you, do not worry if you destroy a few
caps in the experimentation stage. You will not be the first one! Try to
put your anxieties aside; getting nervous and discouraged won't help. In
time, you will begin to understand what is possible and what is not.
Madeira Special for Professional Embroiderers:
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