Adding embroidery to your products is a great way to give them life and personality. For example, hats often rely on stitching to add decoration. Logos, original designs, and more are all great additions to a plain ball cap or snapback. But with hats, it can be a bit tricky to get the embroidery process right. Whether you’re just starting in embroidery or need a refresher course, here are a few tips for great commercial embroidery on caps.

Test Your Design and Placement

Your design of choice will appear differently on a computer screen and on paper than it will on the 3D surface of a hat. Because of this, account for a few test runs of your product. Have a few spare products on hand for testing your pattern and the placement on the specific style of hat. For these reasons, it’s best to shop for your product in bulk. Whether you are looking for dad hats, distressed hats, or strap back hats in bulk, shop KBethos for all the hats you need before you test your next design.

Production Speed

One of the most common mistakes when it comes to commercial embroidery is trying to run your machine too fast. This is especially true when working with intricate designs or surfaces, such as the curve of a hat. Some shops may not want to decrease the production speed, but the quality of your product will be worth it. Consider setting your embroidery machine to 600 stitches per minute for the average hat design. For flat brims and other flat surfaces, bump up the speed to 750 stitches per minute. This should help your designs stay crisp and readable.

Embroidery Machine Maintenance

Your embroidery results may suffer if you don’t take proper care of your machine. Make sure to inspect your machine on a regular basis, as well as clean it of any dust and debris that may settle on it. Confirm all the working parts are in order as well. Keep the thread covered so that it doesn’t collect dust; if it does, the dust could erode the thread, which would lead to fraying. Also, monitor how quickly your machine wears down a needle and replace dull needles with new ones as often as needed.

We hope these tips for great commercial embroidery on caps help you get started with or increase the quality of your embroidery business. Hats are a great product to customize and offer, so make the creation process a bit easier with these tips and enjoy your creations!