What better way to top off a killer outfit than with an incredible piece of headwear? And what if things could get even better and you could learn how to personalise a hat? Especially if the weather is warm or you’re planning on going away somewhere sunny for your holidays, a stylish hat is a great piece to have in your wardrobe to add that extra pop of something special to your outfits.
We’ve already shown you how to personalise a T-shirt, a vest, and a jumper – and now it’s time to turn our attention to your headwear. Heads up!
Why would I want to personalise a hat?
It’s pretty cool to have a totally unique accessory that you know nobody else out there will have:
- An easy way to add a 100% personal touch to any outfit
- Lots of possibilities to tailor it exactly to your style and tastes
- A channel for your creativity
- An opportunity to potentially discover a new passion
- Perfect for events like fundraisers, a company activity, a sports team, or even a birthday party
- If you come up with a really snazzy one, you might even get people asking you where you got such a cool hat
Personalised hats can work well in all sorts of settings, from corporate celebrations to university alumni gatherings!
What kind of techniques are needed to personalise a hat?
Embroidery
The classic technique for customising hats. You’ve probably seen it in lots of caps, and that’s for good reasons:
- It stands up really well to the type of wear and tears most hats take
- It can also be sewn into tough materials that lots of hats are made of
- Embroidery costs won’t increase if you add more colours
- Embroidery can be bold and easily visible from far away
You’ll often see embroidery on things like sports caps or hats for a special event that participants wear. If you have a small design with lots of colours that need to last a while, embroidery is a great choice.
Although embroidery is probably the most popular way to personalise a hat, it’s not the only way! There are some other techniques that can work just as well.
Screen Printing
It’s not always the right fit for your printing project, but it does work in some circumstances. The typical hat choice for screen printing is a foam trucker hat because they don’t usually have centre seams. Seams can make your design look a bit wonky when it’s printed. You’d also be able to screen print on soft military type hats and things like that, as they don’t have centre seams either.
If you do choose screen printing:
- You’ll get the best results with a hat that doesn’t have a centre seam across the front
- You’ll also need to make sure you can access a place that has the equipment needed to print hats (not everywhere can!)
Personalise a Hat with Transfer Printing
You can also use transfers to print on hats. They’re easier to handle than screen printing because they let you print your design on a flat piece of paper, and then place it on to your hat.
- While transfers don’t last forever, they often fade from pieces of clothing because they’re washed really often — that’s not the case with hats most of the time! (When was the last time you washed a hat?)
- Transfers can also give you a higher level of detail
Again, like with screen printing, this works best with hats that don’t have a seam running right down the centre at the front.
And let’s not forget that you might forgo printing altogether! You can always grab a collection of your favourite stuff that might look good stuck on a hat, like pins, badges, or whatever sort of embellishment you can get your hands on.
What type of hat should I choose?
It partly depends on how picky you are about your printing method! If you’re 100% set on using screen printing, you’re not going to want a hat that has a bunch of seams all over the place. If you’re going to be using embroidery instead, you have a lot more options as far as your hat style-wise.
Of course, if you’re not that bothered about the printing method at all, then choose the type of hat that you think looks best on you or best fits your brand! There are lots of different types of hats that you could sell, so take some time to think about how a hat might fit into the sort of thing you’re looking for.
Streetwear
A cool streetwear brand might want a series of trucker hats with edgy sayings, as that’s the sort of thing their customer base would probably want to wear with their outfits. For example, Stüssy is known for their edgy clothing, and they sell hats that go along with that image, like snapbacks and bucket hats with their graffiti-esque logo embroidered on the front. They also sell slouchy beanies with the designs knitted into them or embroidered on.
Classic sportswear brand like Adidas actually also sells a similar range, with snapbacks, trucker hats, and beanies on offer, but they add on more sporty offerings like running visors.
If you’re not a clothing brand and you’re looking to create a hat for something like a general company event, classic styles usually work best, because it’ll probably appeal to a wide range of people. If you have a more specific crowd showing up, then feel free to get as creative as you like.
What sorts of things look good printed on hats?
Lots! OK, we admit that’s probably not especially helpful for narrowing it down.
Logos
The sorts of things that tend to work well on hats are logos (for a brand or a sports team or association), sayings and slogans, and bold prints. You don’t see much in the way of all-over prints or really busy designs, as they’re often just too much for a hat. You may also want a hat that you’ll be able to pair with lots of different outfits, so often times something a bit more pared-down does the trick.
Simple Design
In general, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve chosen a design that will look good small. Hats only have so much space, even for the biggest of heads. Check that it’s not too complicated and that it looks decent from a variety of distances. After all, if you’re going to the trouble of personalising a hat, you’ll probably want people to be able to properly see what’s on it!
Get some help!
If you’re not great with designs yourself, you can hire a designer to come up with the perfect one for you (and, hey look, we’ve created a little guide to help you figure out how to hire a designer). Whatever you decide, makes sure you end up with a high-resolution image so it’ll get printed properly.
The Final Step
Once you’ve decided to go ahead and personalise your hat and you’ve got your design ready to go, the only thing that’s left to do is to put your plan into action! There are lots of companies that offer reasonably priced printing services who can make your hat look awesome. Printsome included *wink* *wink*.
And now comes the really fun bit – once you have your hat in your hands, it’s time to start trying it on with everything you can imagine in your closet. Hats off to you! Or rather, hats on in this case.
Got more tips on how to personalise hats? Then share them with us! Leave us a comment below or send us a message via any of our social media outlets. We always love to hear from you. In the meantime, keep reading the Printsome Blog for more awesome content.
Personalised Hats
Thanks to our five years of experience in the apparel-printing industry, Printsome is able to attend the needs of anyone looking for personalised sportswear. May it be the customisation of a team’s kit or running vests for a marathon, our printing experts are ready to offer you the best option.
From the moment you get in touch, one of our printing experts in either London or Glasgow will answer all of your questions and find efficient solutions to your needs. It is our mission to help you reach your goals.
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