Hat and cap logo digitizing: sizes, stitch order and what to send

A cap isn't a flat shirt. The front panel is curved and stiff, most structured caps have a seam down the middle, and the cap is held in a frame that lets the fabric move as it's stitched. A logo digitized for a T-shirt often puckers, shifts or loses its outline on a cap, so cap files are built differently.

Typical cap logo sizes

• Front panel of a structured cap: most fronts take a logo about 2 to 2¼ in (50 to 57 mm) tall and up to roughly 4 to 5 in wide. The exact space depends on the cap's crown height and on your cap frame or hoop.
• Sides and back: much smaller, usually around 1 to 1½ in tall.
• Unstructured "dad" caps: the softer front is easier to hoop flat, but the same height limits apply.

Measure the cap you'll actually use and give the digitizer the finished width and height. A file digitized at its real size stitches far better than a bigger file shrunk down; see why small logos lose their details.

What changes in a cap file

• Centre out, bottom up. A cap design is stitched from the centre outward and from the bottom up, so the fabric is pushed toward the open edges instead of bunching into a wrinkle.
• A firmer underlay holds the curved panel and keeps the outline on top of the fill.
• Bolder details. Fine lines and tiny letters sink into cap twill. As a rule of thumb, keep lettering at least about ¼ in (6 mm) tall, and widen very thin strokes.
• Fewer, smarter colour changes, because every stop on a cap frame costs time.

Single-needle and multi-needle machines

Multi-needle machines with a cap driver stitch a structured cap in its frame. On a single-needle home machine, unstructured caps can be hooped flat with a firm stabilizer, and some models have a cap hoop or attachment. Keep the design small and simple either way, and check the field of your hoop in embroidery hoop sizes.

What to send a digitizer

• Your logo, as the sharpest file you have (PNG, JPG, PDF, AI, EPS or SVG).
• The finished size on the cap, and whether it's the front, a side or the back.
• The cap type: structured or unstructured, five or six panels.
• Your machine: single-needle, or multi-needle with a cap frame.

Get your cap logo digitized free

Your first design is free, up to 4 in (102 mm), which covers almost every cap front. You get every format (DST, PES, JEF, EXP, VP3 and XXX) and a production sheet with the thread codes and colour order, within 48 hours, with no card needed. After that, every design is $10 flat, at any size. Claim your free design.