Insider Tips For Buying Embroidered Hats

We want your next order of custom embroidered hats to look great, so our team of experts has prepared this list of tips to get you started. Looking for recommendations for which styles are the best? Here a list of their favorite hats embroidered hats.

It sounds obvious, but many customers skip this step because they don't know what their options are. We have produced a buyers guide for embroidered hats that will be time well spent.

Climate is a great determining factor for selecting the style of hat. In warmer climates you want a hat with wicking fabric or mesh back like a trucker hat. In cold winter months you should be looking at beanie style hats. If you have a seasonal climate then you will want a hat matched to the season.

With our 35 years in the business we have learned that some hats just don't stitch very well. Sometimes they don't fit well in the hoop, or have loose material that causes "flagging" which can lead to poor quality. Make sure your embroidery company has experience with the hat style you have selected. When in doubt get a sample and have it stitched before committing to a large order. The hats on our site have been hand picked by our experts and they all stitch great. We are happy to provide samples and since we have no minimums you can order a single hat from us.

If your logo can be drawn with a medium sized magic marker then it can be embroidered. That means text no smaller than 1/4 inch no fine details, and no gradients or shadows.

If your logo has some of these issues don't panic! We regularly get logos's that make us want to cry but we always manage to figure out small changes to the logo so it can be stitched. This may involve removing fine details, resizing text and a boatload of other tricks. If your embroiderer sends you a proof with letters below 3/16" of an inch, you may want to find someone else to do your embroidery since it will likely not meet your needs. Our new Barudan embroidery machines far exceed any other brands quality and really come thru when dealing with these tricky logo's.

In the 1980's embroidery machines were $100K+ and only large shops had them. In the 1990's the market was flooded with cheap machines and anyone could afford them. Problem is, that these cheap machines don't stitch very well. They are not stable and the movement creates imperfections. If you don't buy embroidered hats on a regular basis you probably have no idea what good embroidery looks like.

Corporate Casuals uses top of the line brand new Barudan embroidery machines that cost far more than these cheap home embroidery machines and it is worth it when you see the quality. These machines are rugged industrial machines that produce the best embroidered hats we have ever seen. Our machine operators have been with us for decades so they know how to get the most out of these machines.

When you have a logo digitized for embroidery there is a small setup fee. Once that fee is paid, the digitized logo is yours to keep. Take it to another shop, give it to a friend, post it on Facebook...its yours. Once your logo is digitized, you will not pay a setup fee next time you use it. The embroidered logo's you digitize with us will be in industry standard Tajima DST format. You can download them from the embroidered logo page in your account anytime.

Beware of embroidery shops that hold your digitized logo "hostage". If you pay a setup fee for the logo reputable shops should have no issue providing you a DST file. If the shop gave you "free digitizing" be sure to ask them for the DST file!

Most embroidery shops offer quantity discounts when you buy more than a certain number of units. They can do this because they amortize the machine setup time over more garments. If you are buying 10 embroidered hats adding two more will get you a quantity discount.

Here is a pro tip, you do not have to order the same items to get a quantity discount. If you are buying 10 hats and want to add a couple embroidered polo shirts thats fine. Once the machine is set up it can stitch any kind of garment.

If you have flexibility with your logo colors then have one of the colors match the accent colors of the hat. This gives your embroidered hat a custom and perfectly matched look.

If your logo has brand colors we can often locate a hat with accents that match the brand color especially if your brand colors include black or white. If you don't see the exact accent color you need, give us a call. We have access to a large number of suppliers and may be able to find accented hats that meet your needs.

The best place for your logo is on the front of a hat in the center. Some people think that off center logo's at odd angles look cool. Perhaps old age is creeping up on us, but the purpose of an embroidered hat is for people to recognize your logo and start a discussion about your business. The best chance for this to happen is to embroider a large logo on the front of the hat.

Another pro tip is to add a second decoration location to the back of the hat with your phone number or website address. At Corporate Casuals there is no setup fee for back of hat text lettering.

The general rule for logo size on hats is 2.25 inches tall by 4 inches wide. If you have a logo larger than that, embroidered hats might not be right for you. Visit the logo size section in our embroidered hat buyers guide for a complete list of logo locations and sizes.