59Fifty, Patches cause a major problem

[FiddySicks]

So basically, I'm a hat nut. Ever since I can remember I've always felt most comfortable wearing a cap, and have had a fascination with them since my first 59Fifty. I've got a pretty big collection of caps since working at Lids a few years ago, and whenever income is up I try to grab a few here and there. I generally prefer the authentic 59fiftys, and think the new poly caps are a huge improvement over the old wool models. I especially like caps with patches on them, as they help to represent a time period along with fan allegiance. The only problem is, of all the caps I've collected over the years, I have seem to run into this curse of never being able to find a cap with a patch on it that fit well and was well shaped. At first i thought it was bad luck, but after looking through some pictures of hats on the MLB Shop, I came across thisHouston Astros Cap W/10 Seasons At Minute Maid Patch.

Looks pretty normal, right? That is untill you see the huge dent on the front panel of the cap on the same side as the patch. And I swear every single 59Fifty that I own that has a patch on it looks like it was just about run over by the delivery truck before I got it. The one posted above is actually in relatively good condition in comparison with others I've seen. Whatever they use to put those patches on the cap absolutely mangles it. It's been a problem since way before the material switch. And what makes it so frustrating is that New Era is aware enough of the problem to let it be seen even in their advertisement for it. They have to know this is an issue, nobody is THAT stupid.

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I completely crazy?

[JamieRose]

Hmm, I hadn't noticed that until you mentioned it, but now that I've looked at a couple of patched hats on MLB.com, I can't help but notice! It isn't a huge problem for me, though. I'll still get the 100th Year at Fenway cap if/when the Sox come out with it, mangled dent or not.

[Lee.]

At first, I thought the title said "Patchez," and I assumed there was an embroidery issue.

[oddball]

I'm going to bring up something that you probably didn't think about, but the front of the cap is reinforced and stiffer than

the back four pannels. So anything you sew onto the side or back above the sweatband is going to add more weight to the material

thus making it collapse. I suppose there are three solutions to this problem. First, don't put patches on the "weak" parts of the

caps. Second, shrink the size of the patches on the sides so they aren't more than halway above the sweat band. Third, reinforce

the sides like you do on the front.

[andrewharrington]

He's talking about the dent/crease on the front (reinforced) panel, not the 'dent' in the floppy side of the hat above the patch.

Anyway, this is probably caused by the hat having to be secured while the patch is applied to it, most likely by a machine (or set of machines) that has to be operated by a worker. This seems to be an economic issue. My guess is that New Era is basically just taking existing stock and applying the patches to the already-finished hats. What they should be doing is applying the patches to uncut fabric, then cutting the panel from that and assembling this finished panel into the hats, thereby avoiding having to secure the hat to a machine after it's already been assembled.

[TheOldRoman]

I haven't had many opportunities to buy caps with patches on them, but my Sox 2005 World Series cap has no problems. However, as with every New Era cap, I had to sift through the inventory to find the 1 out of 10 that didn't have embroidery flaws.

[DOech714]

my 08 n 09 phillies W.S. hats are fine, i dont have a prob with the path on the side