New Plans for a New Year

BikeCraft 2011 was a hit. I sold a lot of caps for low prices to make room for some new caps for 2012. I've been making cycling caps for 7 years now and I have thought about quitting a number of times. I have also thought about going "big time" by having my caps mass produced in a factory. Neither option sounded like the right path to take. I must admit that I get really bored sewing the same thing over and over. This is partly why I considered quitting. Yet, I want to create hats that are well made with attention to detail. Basically I want to produce something that I feel proud to put my name on. What keeps things interesting for me is always innovating and creating new, one-of-a-kind caps. For 2012 I'm planning to make a few revisions to my caps. Below are photos of these new features that I feel make for a more quality cycling cap.

All of my wheely, 3 panel, and 8 panel caps will feature a wider cotton headband 3/4" in size. This covers the seam better for a more finished look and makes a more sweat absorbing headband. In this photo you can see another new feature which is, that all the headbands are then top stitched with a heavier weight thread for durability and style. This will be done on all the above mentioned caps with earflaps and without.

This photo shows the interior of two earflap caps. A wheely cap and a 3 panel cap with earflaps added. Notice the thicker headband and double top stitching to hold the headband in place.

All of my Alpine caps will feature a liner inside made from either thin merino wool knit or thin polyester knit. This makes the caps have a more refined look and more warmth due to the second layer of fabric. I am discontinuing the "Reversible" Alpine cap style that I used to produce because although they are reversible, they don't fit as nicely when reversed and they are a pain to sew because the reverse side of the cap never seems to line up centered with the bill. The Alpine cap is my most expensive cap due to the cost of the new fabric used to line each cap and the added time it takes to sew each cap. I have seen other hat makers produce a similar style of cap but all to often they tend to have poorly shaped bills, earflaps that don't actually cover your ears, or an overall poor fit. I feel that my Alpine cap is a superior style of winter riding cap. I will be posting more new caps in my shop in the coming weeks. So please check back to see what is new. Also you can expect a website overhaul for 2012. Happy Holidays!