Best Embroidery Machine for Hats to Create Original Designs

Whether you’ve decided to start a home business or to hone your embroidery skills solely for pleasure, you really should get an embroidery machine.  These gadgets will make embroidery easier and less time-consuming.  They can be used on nearly any material or object and allow you to design and craft any design you want.  Creative freedom is possible.

Designed on Purpose

Not every embroidery machine will work wonders with hats, so you need to look for a model that can handle thick and tough materials to get a hat that looks great.  For this reason, we will take the time to examine some of the best embroidery machines to find out which ones are suitable for making quality-embroidered hats.

To understand which embroidery machines are suitable for making hats, we have a list of features required for any embroidery machine.  This list includes:

Durability 

The machine that will work best on a hat will be sturdy and can work through many hours without falling apart.  It should also handle all the materials that hats are made out of, which means it needs a good deal of mechanical strength and excellent engineering.

Hat Hoop

Some crafters do not think that a hat hoop or a cap frame hoop is necessary for embroidering hats.  But, this is not the opinion of every crafter.  If you’re not sure how you feel about working with a hat hoop, at least give yourself the option.  Select embroidery machines that have this feature.  If you never use it, it is no big deal.  However, if you embroider better with one, think about the frustration if you don’t have the option.

Needles

Selecting a single-needle or a multi-needle machine will come down to two things, your preference and your crafting needs.  To help you understand what each of these needle features offers, let’s look at both in a side-by-side comparison.

Multi-needle Machine

If you plan to start a business out of embroidery, this is the best way to go.  A multi-needle embroidery machine will work harder so that you don’t have to since it allows you to thread multiple needles at once.  With this machine, you don’t have to switch thread for different colors in your pattern; instead, you tell the machine to move to another needle head.

The setup and process of switching colors are a lot faster with one of these machines.  You’ll be happy to know that they also tend to have a speedier stitch speed as well.  On top of this, the tension they produce on the thread during the embroidery process is ideal for making great-looking stitches.

Pros

  • Speedier stitching
  • Easier setup
  • Quicker setup
  • Stitches look better than those on a single-needle machine
  • Machines are typically designed to help center the pattern onto the project item

Cons

  • These are expensive machines
  • These are not portable machines
  • These machines cost a lot of money to service

Single-needle Machine

If you want to embroider hats occasionally, this is the best type.  Single-needle machines are geared toward the home hobbyist rather than a business owner.  While they don’t run very fast and are not as easy to set up as a multi-needle machine, they do produce great results.

Pros

  • Less expensive than a multi-needle machine
  • Most models are made to sew as well as embroider

Cons

  • They take longer to thread the needles
  • Needles will need to be rethreaded each time there is a color change in the pattern

Stitch Speed

An embroidery machine should work through a project quickly, but speed isn’t everything.  Stitch quality can suffer if a machine’s speed is set too high.  For this reason, make sure to select a model that performs well on both fronts.

The Best on the Market

We have discussed a few reasons why you should get an embroidery machine specifically built to work on hats and the features to look for in these machines.  Next, we can browse the best models on the market.  Below is a list of machine models we have pulled together for your consideration.  The following criteria are what we used to pull together each of the recommended products in this list:

Feature Selections

We want to ensure that you have access to a wide variety of features.  We also want to ensure you get the make and model that your hobby or business requires.  To do this, we will highlight the capabilities of each machine. 

Price Range

While we cannot set a budget for you, we will be sure to let you know if a product’s price range is reasonable or expensive.

Ratings & Reviews

All the recommended machines below will have a 4-star rating or above.  Nothing is worth purchasing unless it works well.  The best way to know if an embroidery machine is worth purchasing is to ask those who have tried it out.

Brother PE800

With over 2,000 reviews for this model, the Brother PE800 is worth considering.  It offers users 138 built-in designs and 11-built in fonts that include English, Japanese, and Cyrillic lettering.  The workspace design of this model is large and includes a 3.2″ LCD color touchscreen and a 5″ by 7″ embroidery hoop especially designed for large projects.

But, the most important thing is what other users are saying about this machine.  85% of the customers who reviewed the PE800 have given it a 5-star rating.  They are raving about the color monitor and the ability to edit their projects directly on the screen.  Other customers have commented on how easy it is to switch out bobbins in the middle of a project.  This makes it safe and convenient to switch thread colors when necessary.

Even more impressive is that several customers have commented on how they use the machine to embroider hats.  They mentioned that it is a very easy process and the projects look great.

Pros

  • Large color touchscreen
  • A large variety of built-in designs
  • 11 built-in fonts

Cons

  • Customers have commented that the warranty for this machine is poor
  • This is a pricey machine
  • This machine is designed only for embroidery

Brother SE1900

If you want a machine that can work all forms of fabric art, then consider this model.  The Brother SE1900 is designed to sew, quilt, and embroider.  With all the amazing features it includes, it is no wonder that it can do all these, and do them all very well.  

Customers agree that this is a great machine.  Many reviews include comments about how easy it was to learn to run the machine, how well the machine stitches, and how many great built-in stitch options are included.  

Pros

  • Stitch speed and quality is highly valued by customers
  • Includes 138 built-in designs
  • Includes 240 built-in stitches
  • Includes a color LCD touchscreen
  • Includes a 5″ by 7″ embroidery hoop workspace

Cons

  • Some customers have commented that the automatic needle threader does not always work
  • No available reviews about how this machine embroiders hats
  • This is a pricey machine

Brother SE600

While this machine doesn’t offer the same amount of stitch selection or all the grand features of other models, it is still a great option for home hobbyists.  This reasonably priced embroidery machine has 80 built-in designs and 6 lettering fonts to personalize your embroidery projects.  But, it doesn’t stop there.  The Brother SE600 also works like a sewing machine with 103 built-in stitches.  

With all these features at a great price, you can understand why customers love this model.  A 4.7-star rating shows how they feel about working with it.  If you browse the review section, you’ll find that beginners love this machine because it is easy to learn.  You’ll also find that more advanced sewists and embroiderers enjoy working with this machine because it allows users to create personal designs.

Pros

  • Reasonably priced
  • Easy to learn and use
  • Includes a color LCD touchscreen
  • Includes 10 auto-size buttonholes

Cons

  • Custom embroidery software costs extra
  • Only a 4″ by 4″ embroidery hoop workspace 

Singer Futura Model XL-580

This is another great model for your consideration.  A machine like the Singer Futura XL-580 was designed for home hobbyists who enjoy both sewing and embroidery.  With that focus in mind, the designers included a large work area, an LED light, 250 built-in embroidery stitches, 215 built-in sewing stitches, a computerized embroidery system, and, last but not least, an automatic needle threader.

Pros

  • Includes all the features you should ever need for sewing and embroidery
  • Includes a large workspace
  • Includes a USB key
  • Includes 6 automatic 1-step buttonholes

Cons

  • The manual is confusing
  • Many customers didn’t care for the process of threading the needle
  • This is not a great machine for beginners
  • It does not come with an embroidery hoop for hats

Janome 001MB7

For those home hobbyists who want to create their own embroidery business, this little machine offers a lot of help.  It is an expensive machine, but that is necessary since it does so much.  This model includes a 5.7″ color computer screen, 10 built-in monogramming fonts, 50 built-in designs, a USB port for importing designs, and 7 embroidery needles.  All of these features come together to create quality stitches at speeds up to 800 stitches per minute.

What do the customers think of this machine?  Everywhere it is sold, it has a 4-star rating.  Those who have used this machine love that it is easy to learn how to use, especially if you search for YouTube tutorial videos.  Customer comments include references to how quietly the machine runs and all the wonderful embroidery hoops available with this model.

Pros

  • Works at speeds up to 800 stitches per minute
  • Includes a programmable jump thread trimming feature
  • Includes a large embroidery workspace (9.4″ by 7.9″)
  • Personal designs can be imported into the machine

Cons

  • It is a pricey machine
  • No reviews about embroidering hats found

FAQs

Question: If I Plan to Embroider Hats, Should I Only Purchase a Machine that has a Hat Hoop?

Answer: It is convenient to purchase a machine with a built-in hat hoop, but it is not necessary to do this.  Hat hoops are available for purchase separately, or you can work through the embroidery process without a hat hoop at all.

Question: How to Embroidery a Hat with a Hat Hoop?

Answer: It is easy to embroider a hat without a hat hoop if you are working by hand, but did you know it is also easy to machine embroider a hat without a hat hoop?  Here are a few alternative ideas if you don’t have a hat hoop attachment for your embroidery machine:
Use a scroll fabric frame to keep tension on the hat while the machine is embroidering it.
Use a peel and stick stabilizer to bring added tension to the hat while on the machine.
Use a fabric adhesive spray for temporary tension.

Question: What Are the Pros and Cons of an Embroidery Hoop?

Answer: Embroidery hoops have been part and parcel of the embroidery process for centuries.  This simple piece of technology stretches the fabric apart to create tension in the workspace area.  The tension provides a more solidified space for pushing and pulling the needle through the fabric.  Try to hand embroidery without the tension of a hoop and you will quickly discover that these are purposeful items.
Embroidery hoops have a long-standing connection with this art form.  Because of this, it seems like they are essential and bring only positive aspects to embroidery.  However,  they do have a few negative aspects that we cannot overlook.  Let’s talk about the good and the bad things that come with using an embroidery hoop.
Pros:
Provide excellent tension to the fabric work area
Secures the project for a more comfortable crafting experience
Highlights the area where the embroidery pattern will be placed
Cons:
Embroidery hoops can damage delicate fabric because the tension or the work are may require the hoop to be adjusted regularly
It is difficult to get the right size of an embroidery hoop for each project

Concluding Thoughts

If trying my hand at embroidery didn’t seem appealing before, it certainly does now that I’ve discovered the Brother SE600.  I don’t think I would ever get bored using this machine since it offers so many wonderful features.  Whether I was in the mood to embroider a few hats, shirts, or towels, or jump into sewing a few wardrobe pieces, I think I would get all the help I need from this model.  Plus, it can add on extra embroidery software if I should choose.

Which model are you considering?  There’s plenty of time to think about which to get and now that you have all the resources for finding the best machine, you can relax while coming to a decision. Once you’ve made up your mind, though, head over to our website for some recommended crafting tutorials.

Research Citations

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