HOOPING CAPS

1. Mount the Cap Gauge to your machine stand tabletop. (This is the shiny, heavy 'tube-thing'.) Attach it so the mount is "up" and the thumbscrews are facing down.
2. Note that the Cap Gauge and the Cap Attachment have the same snap clamps on them. They should be at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions on both. Use the ARROW keys on the machine to align them to this position.
3. Put the Cap Frame onto the Cap Gauge so the snap clamps engage. The Bill Holder on the Cap Frame should be "up."
4. Un-clasp the Frame Band and let it hang free.
5. Grab your hat. Un-snap the head size adjuster. Fold down the sweatband and remove any cardboard packing.
6. Mount the hat onto the Frame by sliding the sweatband under the silver block with the red alignment mark. The back of the hat should be over the Frame Posts.
7. Swing the Frame Band over the hat with the bill between the two band halves. The lower band goes over the silver block, and the upper band goes right along the base of the hat bill. Put the Band over the little stud and use the Clasp to clamp the Band down.
8. Gather the hat around to the back so the front is flat and snug. Use the Bent Office Clamps on the 2 Frame Posts to hold the hat snugly.
9. Use the Bill Holder if you wish. Pull up the tab, swing the Holder over the bill and push the tab back down to hold in place. Some hats pucker slightly when you clamp down the bill, which could affect the sew-out.
10. Disengage the snap clamps on the Hat Gauge, and put the loaded Cap Frame on the machine by rotating the bill 90 degrees to clear the needles and then onto the Cap Attachment so the snap clamps engage.
11. Use the ARROW keys to center the design on the hat and TRACE the design to verify that it will fit on the hat.
12. NOTE: Most hats have a spray stiffener on the back of the front panels so no backing is needed to sew. Some of the stretchy hats are best sewn by not pulling the hat real tight around the Cap Frame and inserting some backing between the hat and the Cap Frame.