Images_Digital_Edition_August_2019

www.images-magazine.com AUGUST 2019 images 59 KB TIPS & TECHNIQUES Erich Campbell is an award-winning digitiser, embroidery columnist and educator, with 18 years’ experience both in production and the management of e-commerce properties. He is the programme manager for the commercial division of BriTon Leap. www.erichcampbell.com By measuring a hat on an average head, you can better judge the right amount of stretch for later hooping. Not all logos will require you to be so careful about distortion, but knowing your natural stretch can help you to avoid excess rippling from material rebound; this general guideline helps keep your hooping consistent Light mesh underlay can work wonders, keeping thin lettering and the edges of satin stitches looking crisp, clean and above the surface of even a heavy knit. Moreover, it gives the surface an interesting debossed look that can be used as a textural design element. Though you can clearly see the grid when close and at an extreme angle, from any regular viewing distance, this light and efficient mesh almost disappears In another distributor sample, you can see how the design, which, in this instance, hasn’t been stretched quite enough when hooped, shows quite a bit of warping around the logo. This isn’t the worst kind of warping by far, but it does show how the difference between the stitched-down decoration area and the natural-stretched garment as worn can cause distortion of your design and make your hat lay somewhat poorly point at the end point of the last fill, and you’ve created this magic mesh. With a well-matched colour, particularly if you employ matte-finish threads, the area will look debossed. The material is smoothed and held in place with stitching, making a smoother, more stable substrate for your design, which all but eliminates the need for speciality topping materials or other textural treatments. Alternative decoration methods Sometimes stitching isn’t an option. If your hat can’t be hooped or a needle won’t comfortably pass through it, here are three ways to decorate these unstitchables. Patches/appliqués Heat up the cap press and either produce or purchase some patches with heat-seal backing. If you don’t have a press, some patch suppliers produce self-adhesive appliqués for non-permanent applications. There are caps that don’t respond as well to the adhesives and when that happens, stitching may be more necessary (and provides the most permanent attachment). Even when you have a heavy seam that’s hard to pass through, you can usually do the minor amount of stitching necessary to attach a patch. Stitching down the patch can be achieved with careful pathing via an appliqué-like placement and stitch method on your embroidery machine, or manually with a post-bed sewing machine. Heat pressing Simple single-colour designs can be made quickly with heat- applied cut-films, while more detailed pieces can be achieved by ordering digital full-colour transfers. Adding something embroidery can’t achieve will score extra points with customers that want something more. Custom rhinestone, glitter-flake or foil transfers add a flare even metallic thread can’t touch. Heat pressing also allows printed decorations on finished bills and straps that would be difficult or impossible with embroidery, and provides an easier option for decorating thin, unstructured hats that don’t stitch easily, like those meant for cyclists and runners. Hat bands For hats with a brim, a simple hat band provides an easily-stitched substitute for direct embroidery. Even when a supplier doesn’t include them as an option, they are simple for anyone with even a hobbyist’s knowledge of sewing to create. You can even resort to wide, woven ribbon and non-sew adhesives to create your own in a pinch. Top-of-mind Headwear doesn’t have to be a hardship. Start by testing stock so that you can discover those easy-to decorate, go-to hats that provide the best production value for you and the best quality for your clients, and you may never need to resort to the solutions I’ve discussed. If you do, just remember to keep your seams pliable, your hooping relaxed and your underlay stable; everything else will fall into place. No matter what happens, there are always alternatives. Learn to decorate even difficult hats well, and you can find yourself both figuratively and literally dominating that top-of-mind space with your customers.