help

[Laurie]

I know that I have often heard you can't take the same image for a flat a sew it on a cap. I am finding that cvery true! I have this great stitchout on flat, but now that I am trying to put it on a hat it looks like CRAP! It doesn't help that I am still trying to figure out how to hoop the damn things and the customer wants a dozen tomorrow!! I tried simplifyling the design and it stitches out better, but teh detail is lost and I know the customer is NOT going to like it... any suggestions???

I would have prefered a few weeks to get used to my new machine, especially the cap part instead of instantly having a 60+ cap order!!!

At my witts end...
Laurie

[sschroed2]

I sew the same design on shirts and hats frequently with a lot of detail.

Are you slowing the machine down to around 600spm? Are you using the cap backing cut at approx 14" long? Are you using the WACF cap frame or the CCF capframe? For most of us the WACF is very hard to learn how to hoop well, there are some videos I believe attached to this website to show you how to do it.

Also I use Titanium sharp needles 75/11 to sew hats. Also, make sure your design does not exceed around 2 1./2" tall and sews from the bottom up.

Sue

[Debbie Garifi]

Your best bet is to have it digitized for a cap and it will stitch out beautifully if done by any of the folks on this group that digitize. It will be worth every dime spent. You can try Rod Springer or Juli Damazo, both are great at what they do. Juli is in Kona so you have the time difference on your side! See who can take a look at it and fix it the quickest to sew correctly for you.
Debbie Garifi
Design Wizard Embroidery

[Kathy Shaw]

Did you try putting extra backing for the hats. Try about 3 pieces of backing. Same thing happened to me and I used 3 pieces of backing and it worked fine.

[smeggy345o]

Try reducing the size to under 2"

[Laurie]

I have shrunk it twice already... wany smaller and the detail is gone! It is a deer skull... and it is kicking my butt!

[Laurie]

I am using 2-3 pieces of tear away, maybe I will try adding a regular piece under that, just trying to elimniate cutting the darn stuff out

[Impressive Threads]

Many times I use the same design for flat and caps. Just have to make sure the pressure foot is all the way down. That might help with the thread breaks. You may want to adjust the actifeed from auto to standard then for the type of cap structured vs unstructured. Definitely use sharp needles vs ball point and hoop tight, tight, tight.

Cindy

[Linda H]

I don't know if you have this available to you but at our shop I always use a hat press before I sew on any caps. It helps calm down the front, I find that it helps when the cap moves right and left with the presser foot, keeps it smooth and helps a lot with registration. Make sure the hat is hooped tight and backing is important. We sew designs that we've used for a left chest and reduce a little to sew on a hat. We never run our machine above 900 for hats and use sharps. Is the design you are using from a Dakota book or is it just lettering? Sometimes removing some fill helps with too many stitches on top of the other.

Linda

[Laurie]

thanks for the continued pointers...
having a few hours away from this I am ready to start again! I reversed my sewing order and will stitch it out from bottom to top...

We do have a hat press, so are you saying to just press it before hopping and stitching???
I am willing to try anything at this point, I need 3-4 hats done this afternoon!

As I mentioned, I did make it a bit smaller, and I am only running bewteen 550-750, just depending on where it is in the design.
No it is not a Dakota, it is a logo I had to digitize and did do part of it with the auto feature.

I will see with what happens with the first practice this morning!
Thanks again gang!!!

Laurie [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Rod or Sharon]

Laurie,

I see that you have "shrunken" the design twice already......how big to how small?

Unfortunately scaling down a design for caps doesn't always work well. In fact most of the time quality suffers greatly, but it all depends on the specific design as to what you can get away with.

Folks don't like to hear that you can't take their complex left chest or jacket back size design and shrink it ddown to cap size without redigitizing it. They feel they are being gouged or ripped off ......

It appears from what you are describing, you have several strikes against you. A large design that has been shrunken twice, lots of detail in the design, using the auto feature to digitize parts of the design, the sewing order which you have now changed for the better, backing, etc.....

When scaling a design down, the Scale Factors tool should be used to reduce the stitch count "before" the design is scaled down. Did you do this?

Stitch lengths in the fills, especially long stitchs of 60 pts or so, do not take well to scaling down in very small areas or small detail.

So when they say, digitize for caps, there are specific things to consider and "too" much detail in too small of an area is certainly one of them that will present you with a great deal of frustration and heartache in the form of fraying and thread breaking....

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Laurie]

It was a left chest design that was just over 2 3/4 and I have now taken it down to 2 1/2... but I have realized I need to take it to 2 1/4.

Our biggest problem is hooping right now and it is killing us! Has anyone else had a problem with the hat popping off before even taking it to the machine??? it is like we have something bent or who knows what...

This is no longer a design issue, because if I can't get it to stay hooped... it doesn't matter if it sews!

laurie

[Rod or Sharon]

Watch the video on this website that my wife and herb Acree put together. Do exactly as he instructs. Above all, do not bend the bill of the cap backwards, towards your belly, to try to get a deeper bite into the hatband. This will cause a failure for sure.....

http://www.amayausers.com/tips/default.asp

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Laurie]

I have watched the video!!!
we believe we might have a bent frame, as it pushes the hat off when we try to clip the bill in. We have ordered a second cap frame, and I was told today that it is the 'old' one with two straps... so we won't kno wif the other piece is bent or not as it doesn't have that part any longer...

I have it resized nicely now, just under 2.25...


still trying, but my boss is redy to throw it all into the street!

[mtgraphix]

It could possibly be the brand of hats you are practicing with. I have an awful time hooping Anbil hats for some reason with the WACF; but those are the only ones I have run into that just plain do NOT fit the cap frame properly. . .the visors are cut weird or something and they don't stay on.

Try a different brand - Adams, Toppers, etc. and see if that helps. I have also found that by unhooking the back of the cap, (even with the adjustable "buckle" straps on the back)you can pull it down tighter over the cap frame.

I had a hard time with it at first, too - don't feel bad! Once you get it figured out, it won't be so bad.

Lots of luck [img]smile.gif[/img]
Judy