Hat Hoop - Advice

lolliepop · August 17th, 2011, 09:38 PM

I just bought a Babylock BMP8. I am completly new at this and need advice on hat hoops. I someone who wants me to make hats and visors. What kind of hoops should i purchase?

twok4hd · August 18th, 2011, 09:28 AM

The front of caps are not done in a traditional hoop. They are done on a device called a cap driver using a special hoop to hold the cap. I do not know if your brand of machine has one available, so you will need to do some research. Also, keep in mind that a design that is created for flats generally will not stitch well on a cap or visor. The design has to be specifically digitized for a cap or/and or visor. A design digitized for a cap can be stitched on a flat but not the other way around.

Gilligan · August 18th, 2011, 10:45 AM

I'm not gonna contradict you because I'm VERY new to the business... but I've sewn some "flat" stuff to hats with no problems... even some VERY thin/lightweight hats. What could go wrong?

twok4hd · August 18th, 2011, 11:39 AM

That is why I used the word "Generally". I too have sewn some designs for flats on hats that looked OK. In some cases you can just change the sequence so that it is center out and bottom up.

Where you have a design that has an outline stitch or shadow, you can run into registration issues. Because you are following the contour of the hat, things can become distorted.