Cap Embroidery - Breaking Needles

tancehughes · July 3rd, 2013, 11:55 AM

Well we have our caps sewing but I keep breaking needles. I'm embroidered on a structured cap, using 80/12 titanium needles, with 1 piece of backing and in a few cases we've tried it with no backing. Obviously, my needle must be striking the needle plate right? Well I adjusted the plate forward since we believed that needle was closer to the front than the back, but no luck, still breaking. What else could be the cause of this?

DeepWoods · July 3rd, 2013, 02:17 PM

If it sews flats fine, here's the first things I'd check. Make sure your presser foot height is adjusted correctly, the correct needle plate for caps is installed if it's not a universal plate, and that you have your machine switched over to it's cap setting.

Rob

minimalist · July 5th, 2013, 02:00 AM

Check your needle depth, timing, and make sure the thread trimmer is adjusted correctly in the right position. I had the same problem you have sewing puff on the same style cap. First I moved the thread trimmer adjustment to make sure it was centered in the plate. Stopped some but still breaking. Checked the timing and the distance between the hook and needle. Bumped my timing up 1 degree which helped again slightly. Still breaking needles so I pulled the cover and adjusted the needle depth. Problem went away.

I should mention that the machine had no problems sewing flats. The real test is sewing caps. That manifests all the problems at least in my experience.

flyinneedle · July 6th, 2013, 09:40 AM

Make sure that the problem is not simply because your logo is too large for the cap and that you aren't trying to sew too far down toward the bill. If you are too close to the bill, it will sometimes break more often, try moving your frame forward a little bit and give yourself more room at the bottom of the cap.

SunEmbroidery · July 9th, 2013, 12:08 PM

Does the hat fit the frame well? If there is extra space between the hat and the frame then that can cause flagging. Adding an extra piece of backing can help. Also if the hats are stiff try steaming them before hooping. That makes them more pliable so its easier to get a tight hooping. Moving away from the brim can help. Do you break needles when starting on the center seam? If so you may need to start the design away from the center. You can have the digitizing start at a different point or move the design slightly off center. If you are running a single head and extra space is the problem you can hold down the cap with tweezers just to get started.