Producing caps in China

A useful quotation starts with the cap type and its construction. Number and shape of panels, crown height, brim, closure, eyelets, sweatband, material, colours and size system determine which manufacturer and production setup fit the project.

We collect these details in one written specification. A reference cap or marked-up drawing can be used if no complete tech pack exists yet. Each producer then calculates the same article instead of interpreting a generic product photo differently.

Felix Sander, one of our co-founders, works in China with a whole team. The team knows more than 100 producers personally, among them factories that sew nothing but caps and embroiderers who handle 3D puff work. If you want to know whether a factory can shorten the brim to your length or which closures it keeps in stock, someone from our team goes there and looks.

Anyone having caps made in China for the first time often gets a quote and then hears nothing for weeks. With us, one European contact takes you through the whole project, from the mockup and the sample to DDP delivery, and makes it happen together with the team in China. We contact you on our own whenever there is news, for example when the first sample is finished and on its way to you, and we tell you openly if something slips. The delivery dates we give are realistic, and we do everything we can to keep them.

On cost you usually come out cheaper with us than with your own sourcing or another sourcing agency. We handle both steps ourselves: in China the negotiation with cap factory and embroiderer, in Germany customs clearance and delivery. On each side we pick the cheaper option, with caps for example the freight mode, since caps weigh little but take up a lot of carton space. With the cap factory we negotiate the best possible unit price. The caps reach you DDP, and we invoice from Germany. If there is a quality problem, we talk to you straight away and come to see you in person, because your trust is the most important thing we have.

Common shapes are the classic 6-panel baseball cap, the 5-panel cap, the trucker cap with a mesh back and the unstructured dad cap. A structured cap has a stiffened front that keeps the crown upright, while on an unstructured cap the front falls soft. For the brim you choose between flat and curved and set the length. Many factories work with fixed brim shapes, and a shorter brim is only possible if the producer can cut a matching insert. We clarify this before the sample is made.

Cotton twill is the most common fabric, washed for a worn-in vintage look or distressed with frayed edges. Polyester and mesh suit sports and trucker caps, corduroy and canvas suit fashion collections. At the back the cap closes with a plastic snapback, hook-and-loop, a fabric strap with a metal buckle or a metal clip that can carry its own branding. The finish of the metal parts, whether silver, gold or black, has to be written into the specification, otherwise the factory uses its standard.

With some constructions a stiff front and a washable cap rule each other out, because the stiffening does not cope well with washing. If your caps are meant to be washed, or the wash is part of the look, we tell you beforehand which front works with it. Adjustable caps usually fit a head circumference of 56 to 58 cm.

Logos can be implemented as direct embroidery, a woven label or a sewn-on patch. Position, dimensions, colours and artwork are fixed before sampling. Inner labels, hangtags and individual packaging can be included in the same specification.

Flat embroidery is the standard on caps. 3D embroidery, also called puff embroidery, is stitched over a foam layer and stands clearly off the fabric. It looks best with bold letters and simple shapes; fine lines and small type get lost. For 3D work, some of our cap producers team up with specialised embroiderers that run their own machines for it. Patches can be woven, embroidered or made of faux leather. Every new logo needs its own embroidery program, which the embroiderer sets up once.

A physical sample shows whether the crown shape, brim and closure work together and whether the logo sits correctly on the finished cap. We never start a series without such a sample cap: you hold it, put it on, check the embroidery and closure and approve it in writing. The sample and its shipping are charged, and you learn what both cost before the factory begins. Allow roughly two to three weeks until a cap sample ships.

Before a first order, we verify the manufacturer, including its business licence, and compare its capabilities with the approved construction. During production, samples can be checked against the approval while corrections are still possible.

Our own team in China checks the caps twice, on site at the producer. The first check takes place once the first caps are sewn and embroidered, when embroidery position, brim length and the finish of the metal parts can still be corrected. The second check covers the finished goods before shipment. Depending on the cap, the checklist covers dimensions, symmetry, seams, brim shape, closure, logo position, colour, labels, packaging and quantity. You can waive these checks, which makes the order cheaper.

Typical cap faults are crooked embroidery, visible joins in the stitching, brims that differ from the agreed length and metal parts in the wrong finish. They almost always arise when a detail could only be seen in a picture and was never written down. AI-generated mockups are a good starting point for that reason, but they do not replace measurements. That is why we always send you the sample as a real cap: how stiff the brim is, how the fabric feels and how dense the embroidery sits only shows when you hold it.

The tariff classification of headwear depends on material and construction and is checked for the specific article before import. Caps are classified in chapter 65 of the customs tariff for headgear, whereas T-shirts and jackets fall under chapters 61 and 62. Our calculation combines the manufacturer price with sampling, inspection, freight, customs handling and delivery.

Caps are light but bulky. So that the crowns are not crushed, they are stacked in bags and packed into sturdy cartons, which is why air freight is usually billed by volumetric weight. We work out whether sea or air freight is cheaper for your quantity and deliver DDP to the agreed address. We produce caps from 300 pieces per article; how that quantity can be split across colours and variants is clarified with the selected manufacturer.