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So, you’ve decided on custom beanies to take your brand to the next level, now what?

There are so many options, styles, fabrics, etc. available when putting together a design for custom beanies. This can get extremely confusing and borderline overwhelming, but don’t worry Delusion MFG can help. A lot.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Beanie Branding Cheat Sheet?

Well, that is exactly the topic that I will be covering in this blog. As I will provide you with in-depth looks, information, reference photos, and explanations on 8 branding/styling options for your custom beanies.

This cheat sheet will be your GO-TO for custom beanie branding now and in the future!

As I have discussed in previous blogs, branding for any custom headwear like a 5 panel hat or merino wool beanie is key in the growth of your business. The more we work together and get creative, the more success you will have. The main element that is beneficial here is “free promotion”.

Customers and clients will be happy to wear your apparel because of the great services you provide to them. (It’s all about how valued your customers are). But on the other end, they are providing you a service by promoting your brand for you. It is a WIN / WIN situation.

Fabrics for Custom Beanies

You’ve decided to move forward, but first, we need a base for your beanie. What fabric should you use? You can’t have a beanie without fabric. I will go discuss some of the industry secrets to choosing the right fabric for your beanie. There is a correspondence between branding and fabrics as well!

It is important to recognize your demographics as well as the climate in these situations!

Merino Wool Fabric – Merino Wool is the industry standard in creating a beanie. The soft, classic feel will leave you nice and warm while bringing the classic style to the table. Given the fabric makeup of merino wool, there are many benefits. These benefits for branding are very important to know. This fabric style is sturdy and is the best beanie fabric for a leather patch style of branding as well as more “full” designs. Nothing says classic like a nice leather patch or woven damask label. Don’t worry, I will discuss these soon!

Check out our merino wool beanies here.

Acrylic Thread Fabric – Acrylic fabric is a lighter, smoother alternative to Merino Wool. The tighter knit style of the thread is great for embroidery options as well as cuff fold labels due to thickness being less than Merino Wool. A lightweight option may be the best choice for the beginning of Winter or End of Winter.

Check out our selection of acrylic beanies here.

Acrylic Mixed Thread Fabric – Acrylic mixed fabric combines the thickness of a Merino Wool Beanie with the feel of an Acrylic Thread Beanie. This option also allows for two or more colors to be used. Having this advantage really allows for a cool look for your clients.

See what I am referring to with our acrylic mixed beanies here.

It is important to realize that there are endless options with the fabric style of the beanie. There are no ends to customization and colors. Choose what you believe your customers would enjoy!

Pro Tip: Neutral Beanie colors are most popular in the Fall and Winter Months. More colorful and vibrant options are seen more in the Spring and Summer! But there is never a guideline to follow, be different!

Branding Options for Custom Beanies

I will break down 8 different branding options for your custom beanies to best fit your needs! This is your unofficial/official cheat sheet.

(1) Flat Embroidery – This is a classic style option. With this, the artwork will be embroidered directly onto the cuff (or other position) on the beanie giving a nice, clean look! This is best for more detailed designs with the overall feel of continuity throughout the beanie.

(2) 3D Puff Embroidery – This is something that is has grown in popularity recently. Your artwork will be embroidered with a raised presentation onto the beanie. The thread will extrude off the fabric and is best used for simple and bold designs.

Red 6 Panel <a href= — Red 6 Panel Hat w/ Raised Embroidery

(3) Woven Damask Label – Another classic styling popular with many companies. You may have seen the classic Supreme logo in this option on almost all their headwear. Your artwork will be woven into a label that will then be stitched onto the beanie.

(4) Woven Cuff Fold Label – Take advantage of the entire beanie with this option! Some people like to wear a beanie cuffed, others uncuffed. With this option, you will have a label that goes over the cuff and can display artwork on both sides. When work, either way, you will be able to promote your brand! This is very popular due to the flexibility that can be used in designing the tag / how particular people like to wear their beanie!

Woven Cuff Label on Blue, Yellow, Grey & Green Custom Beanies

(5) Satin Printed Label – Like the woven damask label, this is a tag that is sewed onto the fabric. The main difference is the texture of the tag (smoother, satin feel) while the artwork is printed onto the tag instead of woven into it. This is a great option for more detailed designs.

Satin Printed Label on Black 6 Panel Hat

(6) Front Leather Patch – Ah, old faithful. The leather patch is unanimous with beanies, given its look and feel. With many leather color options to choose from, there are endless possibilities. But how will it look? There are options to deboss (press in) your artwork into the leather. This is done using a metal mold that is then pressed into the leather to create the depth effect. This classic look allows for a patch that will be the same color throughout. Now for those who want their logo to pop, there is another option. This would be debossed leather with Black Ink. The process is the same, but the mold will contain black color in the spots your artwork will be going. This allows for a distinct color difference, making your logo/artwork really stand out!

Leather Patch on Front of 4 Custom Beanies

Debossed Leather Patch with Black Ink

(7) Woven Damask Patch – Like the woven label, this is a great option for more detailed artwork with a flat background. The difference is that the edge of this label will be merrow (or raised). This gives the look of an embroidery patch while maintaining more detailed branding within the label.

Woven Damask Patch on Grey Custom Beanie

(8) Embroidery Patch – Classic, huh? The embroidery patch is for less detailed artwork. This option allows for all the artwork (other than the free space in the background) to be raised off the patch. The merrowed edge is a standard in regard to this.

Blue, Orange & Yellow Gold Embroidery Patches

Though I have covered the main branding options, there are so many new styles being created every day. This is truly exciting, as customization has been taken to a new level. The industry will continue to grow and grow alongside you.

ALSO, CHECK OUT:

Why Believe Delusion MFG

We have seen the results firsthand. We have been involved in the custom apparel industry since 2008, with previous experience in the brand apparel sector and hospitality industry. That’s almost 10 years of experience! We have seen how not only has society and technology continued to change but the growth of the small business. Delusion MFG can proudly say that we continue to team up with business (from big to small) around the world! We gladly lend our hand in helping businesses grow and succeed on the custom apparel spectrum.

Want some inspiration to get you started? Feel free to check out our Instagram page. Our page shows just a fraction of the products we have created by working with our customers.

Also, make sure to browse our wide selection of products from hats to leather patches and everything in between on our website.

So you just got a new hat. You tried it on, realized that it’s small and now you are here. What did we learn? Try before you buy or at least make sure that the measurements are right if you are buying online. But now that you have made this mistake (or if the company sent you the wrong size), you need to do something with the hat. It can’t just go to waste, collecting dust in a closet.

No, no. You have paid for it and it’s the one you want. So now you need to stretch it.

Wear it

Yes, sometimes this can be enough. Simply spend a lot of time in your hat and it will eventually stretch. Just make sure that you do this at home because a tight hat can look pretty awkward. Especially if it leaves a mark on you.

If your hat is only a little tight then this method will work perfectly fine. You can even make it stretch a little more by gently expanding it by hand. Just make sure that you don’t tear it and you don’t make it too loose.

Spray and Wear

This is probably one of the most uncomfortable methods to stretch a hat, but it’s one of the simplest. You will need a little bit of water and a hairdryer.

You can wet the hat by hand or you can use a spray bottle. It doesn’t really matter, but you need to follow a couple of rules either way. First of all, don’t soak the hat. That can cause the dye to flow to places you don’t want it or it can cause some damage to the material. The second is that you don’t need to wet the brim. Actually, you simply shouldn’t wet them. They don’t need to change in their size and it’s quite possible that they have something in them that shouldn’t be wet. Like cardboard in baseball caps.

Then grab your hairdryer and start blowing it. Do this until the material is mostly dry, but the wetness is still pretty obvious. And this is the point where you need to turn off the hairdryer and put on the hat. Yes, it will feel a bit weird and cold. But you need to let it air dry on your head because that’s the only way it’s going to mold to the shape of your head. Although, you can use the cold setting on your hairdryer (if there is one) and make the process faster. Just don’t put extra heat on the hat because it will start molding again.

If you did everything right then now the hat should be the right size for you.

Use a Football

Yes! We are serious.

This method is for those who don’t want to spend time stretching their hat, instead they want someone or something else to do it. Well, we have just the thing for you. A football.

You need to do exactly the thing you’re expecting. Put the football in the hat for a couple of hours so that it stretches it out over time. Obviously, you need a ball that is about the same size as your head. It’s very likely that you won’t be able to guess what ball would be that one, so you just need to experiment. Use a fairly small ball first and if the hat doesn’t fit after a couple of hours then you need to use a bigger one.

Repeat this process until the ball stretches the hat enough for your head.

A couple of tips if you plan on doing this: clean the ball thoroughly first. You don’t want it dirtying your hat or leaving permanent stains. If you want to be extra sure then you can even place it in a plastic bag and put it into the hat that way. Also, if the ball is someone’s who lives in your household then check in with them first. Make sure that they know you don’t want the ball out of your hat for a couple of hours. Because if they just take it then you were waiting for nothing.

The only downside of this method is that it’s way too easy to overstretch. If you don’t pay close attention to the size difference between the balls then you will very likely end up with a hat that is way too big for you. In this case, you will need to learn how to shrink it.

Steaming

This one is pretty similar to the spraying one, you just use steam instead. But the extra heat can help sometimes, so this method is worth trying out. Although, it shouldn’t be your first choice.

You will need a pot and a hairdryer.

Simply boil some water in the pot and make sure that there is a lot of steam. By lot, we mean that it should be hard to breathe above the pot. (Please do not check if there’s enough steam by sticking your head over the water! You should be able to guess.)

Then simply hold the hat above the pot. Do this for 1 minute, then take it off for 30 seconds. Do this at least 4 times. Although, in most cases it should be done at least 6-7 times because nowadays hats are made of tougher materials.

The last step is drying it fairly well with the hairdryer and then putting it on. Just make sure that it’s not too hot for your head. We don’t want you to end up with a burnt scalp.

If this method doesn’t work for you then all you can do is use professional tools. There is no harsher technique than this one, so there really isn’t any other way.

Do it Professionally

There are certain devices that are made to stretch hats. They are easy to use, usually pretty cheap and can be used several times. And of course, they are available all over the place, you can likely find one in your local Walmart even.

The way you are supposed to use it is very simple. Steam up the hat first (like how we explained above), then place the device in the hat. Crank it so it’s pushing against the edges. Now, this is crucial: the hat stretcher needs to be on the hatband. Not above. If you put it any higher then it will leave a visible mark and your hat might be ruined.

But once you have the stretcher ready you just need to leave it be. You can let it sit for a couple of hours or overnight. Either way, at the end of this period you need to try on your hat and if it’s still small then you need to repeat the process.

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Conclusion: How to Stretch a Hat

After going through the trouble of stretching your hat you will likely try before you buy next time. But it’s okay, everyone makes mistakes. And now, you even made it into a time when you can learn something new. Good for you, now you can handle such situations in the future too!

Which method will you try out first? What is the reason that convinced you to do so? Tell us down in the comments below!

Tag Archives: tips

8 Amazing Branding Styles for Custom Beanies

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January 23, 2018

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