embroider on a hat – MaddieAutumn

Most embroidery on curved/shaped hats are created with a multi-needle machine. These are machines where the hat is able to be worked inside of a curved hoop. As a single needle machine owner who does not want to shell out thousands of dollars it is time to test if it is absolutely necessary. Although I have seen some single needle embroidery done on a hat before they have been structured. Since a structured hat is more difficult, why not try it out.

This was a project that was requested by my sister, but I was honestly not sure it would even be possible. As if the odds were not already stacked against me, she wanted to use a Major League Baseball hat. Any sports fans/ hat enthusiast will know that these are a pretty penny ($50+). In any other circumstance I recommend testing out stitches and files prior to stitching on the final product. There was not enough time to test stitch out these files nor did I wish to purchase yet another structured hat. Here is the mockup I was provided to use as a reference.

Obviously, using the float method is essential to success as this type of hat cannot be completely flattened. The stabilizer I decided to go with was multiple layers for water soluble stabilizer so that there would not be any remnants left behind. Online’s recommendation is to use tear away stabilizer for hats but I did not have any on hand. That being said I did not have any major issues with the water soluble stabilizer. The main concern was that the stabilizer would be too fragile and break while stitching but it is surprisingly very sturdy.

Some advice I would like to give is to stay wary of the frame lines on the hat, this was not possible for the desired design but is something to consider as it is harder on the hat as it is hardest to manipulate at those points. Another thing I would like to provide caution on is the larger emblem: while it embroidered well, it did leave a lot of bulk on the underside of the hat. If I get a request to embroider on a hat again, next time a patch would stitch out easier, safer and provide a cleaner finish overall. Although this is not a project I enjoyed creating I will say it did turn out rather nice. The main reason I would not want to redo this project is that just looking at it makes my fingers cramp up. To see the this project in action watch the video below.