Images Magazine June 2018

www.images-magazine.com JUNE 2018 images 51 TIPS & TECHNIQUES N ot on my machines.” You might be surprised how many times I have heard this sentiment in reference to headwear. Largely, it’s embroiderers new to the craft who are most likely to be cowed by caps, but they are far from alone. Embroiderers of nearly every age and skill level can succumb to the stresses of embroidering headwear, particularly the classic, six-panel, structured cap. There is no category of regular apparel that has more variation in structure, requiring specialised treatment in every phase from design to finishing to ensure high-quality embroidered results. While it may be tempting to foist your headwear decoration orders on to the embroidery departments of your apparel vendors, you then risk losing those potentially very profitable orders that either can’t suffer the longer lead time required by outsourcing, or don’t meet the minimum quantity that vendor decoration requires. Rather than turn your headwear headaches over to a third party, then, make the effort to learn strategies for every step in the process that will make embroidering caps a less onerous– and more profitable – task. Design Most difficulties that headwear decorators face can be traced back to the initial stages of an order. Without careful communication and consideration in the initial design phase, cap embroidery can quickly get out of control. Each style of cap has its own quirks, but all caps have restrictions relating to the available space for decoration. This means it’s a poor idea Have you been dismissing headwear decoration because ‘it’s too complicated’? Erich Campbell offers some straightforward strategies that will boost your confidence – and your bottom line “ to approach embroidery on headwear in the same way that you would approach embroidery on other flat garments. Crown heights for each style vary, but the universal truth is that the decorative area on caps has fairly fixed vertical limits and a much larger horizontal space. This horizontal aspect means that any logo or type treatment with a natural horizontal format is going to be best suited for use on hats. Likewise, it’s generally better to alter those designs that are strongly vertical rather than trying to size them down to the vertical limits of the cap. In short, be prepared to rearrange and alter the art; educate clients and pitch modified or rearranged designs; explain the area available for the client’s chosen headwear, and how this area should be used for maximum impact (at the usual 1-1.5m ‘handshake’ distance at which the hat will most often be viewed). [Above] Unlike a six-panel cap, the simple, smooth crown of the five-panel cap has no rolled seams to stitch over. It also offers a large vertical limit for decoration space; however, not every client will be keen on such a high-profile look [Below] With a careful eye towards stabilisation, you can run large designs on unstructured hats, although there will be more distortion the higher into the curved crown you travel Cap clinic “In order to avoid being a commodity, you must be a consultant”