small lettering on hats not working-help!

[signman]

okay, I'm at my wits end here...
50 hats to do before 5 today, been at it since 8 am
and getting about 3 per hour done...not even a dozen yet.
I have stopped and changed the design for every single hat...
and can't get it right.
I'm down to the bottom line of lettering,
AUTO TRUCK & TRAILER
along the brim of the hat under the design.
This is sewing first to avoid rippling the hat.
All good hats, mostly light structured, stiff
tear away underneath-hooped tight in the CCF frame with
the clamp for holding the brim.
Micro Times CP
.3 height
4.2 density
110% comp
nothing else checked except min. width 8

I can't get it to go 2 letters without the thread breaking...
replaced needle 3 times, even went to different needle on the
machine. Same needle and thread work fine other places in the design.

Needle plate, removed and re aligned twice, pressor foot is just touching
but not pushing down much-any heavier and it breaks thread every 30 stitches,
any lighter it throws a false thread break.
Bobbin-checked it several times, replaced bobbin twice, tried magnetic bobbin
and no difference.

These are for a company party tonite...
HELP!!!!

Roland

[HERB]

Roland,
Call me. 208-746-0448

[TAXTHEAX]

Did you change the accumulate short stitch to zero in the FILTERING TAB?

Embroidery Works by Ralph

[signman]

Sue is looking at it now, it is set to 1.
We'll try it at zero...what about short stitch
length-that is 4...any recommendations to that?

[Joy]

Roland, Please give an update as to what your solution was. I had this problem twice, and never figured it out.

Thanks,joy

[signman]

Here's what it has boiled down to...
the hats giving me the worst problem were Alpha FlexFit, solid structured high brows-with a curved brim.
1) the hats were too stiff to 'seat' down on the hat hoop...so the 'face' would bounce up and down. The CCF hat frame isn't the right one for this type of hat-we're going to set up with the WACF and finish the job. I sent the file to Herb (thanks for all your help Herb!)
and he tested it on his-worked fine.
2) the lettering density needed to be changed-pushed it up to 5, made sure of no underlayment, and on the other hats it ran fine.
(unstructured low brow, medium structured, etc.)
3) auto density and shortstitch both turned off
So the problem boiled down to the HAT after everything else was fine tuned. These high profile structured hats are pre formed and precurved-and the curve does not match the hat hoop tube...so the 'face' is lifted off the needle plate with the CCF frame.