Double Trout Rise Trucker Hat

Two mouths open, one fly in the air.

A rainbow and a brown trout rising to a dry fly over white water, in a realistic wildlife style, made for days on the river.

A rainbow trout and a brown trout leap from breaking water, jaws open, toward a dry fly on a curling line. Rose pink, honey ochre and cerulean blue carry the picture, finished with black and crimson spots.

Rainbow and brown trout rising together
Straw dry fly on a white line
Cerulean water breaking into white spray
Black and crimson spots on honey ochre
Rose pink stripe on silver sage

The cap

One design, four caps. The front panel is what the paint or the dye sits on, so it changes the hat.

Trucker
The house cap — structured mid profile, foam-and-mesh back, snapback.
Specs
Profile
Mid profile
Build
6-panel · Structured — buckram behind the front
Crown
3½ in (8.9 cm)
Visor
Pre-curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)
Closure
Snapback
Adjusts to
21½–24 in (54.5–61 cm)
Airbrushed on
Natural cotton twill
Sublimated on
White polyester foam
Rope cap
Structured five-panel with a near-flat brim and a cord across it.
Specs
Profile
Mid-high profile
Build
5-panel · Structured
Crown
4 in (10.2 cm)
Visor
Near-flat, 2⅞ in (7.3 cm), contrast rope
Closure
Snapback
Adjusts to
21½–23¾ in (54.5–60.5 cm)
Airbrushed on
Stone cotton twill
Sublimated on
White polyester twill
Dad hat
Soft, low and unstructured — washed cotton with a strap back.
Specs
Profile
Low profile
Build
6-panel · Unstructured — soft front
Crown
3¼ in (8.3 cm)
Visor
Curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)
Closure
Strap back, brass buckle
Adjusts to
21–23½ in (53.5–59.5 cm)
Airbrushed on
Washed khaki cotton
Sublimated on
White polyester twill
Five-panel camp
Flat brim, low crown, packs flat in a vest pocket.
Specs
Profile
Low profile
Build
5-panel · Unstructured
Crown
3¼ in (8.3 cm)
Visor
Flat, 2½ in (6.4 cm)
Closure
Strap back, side-release clip
Adjusts to
21½–23½ in (54.5–59.5 cm)
Airbrushed on
Field olive nylon-cotton
Sublimated on
White polyester

Fit

A cloth tape measure around the crown of a blank cap

Cap	Profile	Crown height	Visor	Adjusts to
Trucker	Mid profile	3½ in (8.9 cm)	Pre-curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)	21½–24 in (54.5–61 cm)
Rope cap	Mid-high profile	4 in (10.2 cm)	Near-flat, 2⅞ in (7.3 cm), contrast rope	21½–23¾ in (54.5–60.5 cm)
Dad hat	Low profile	3¼ in (8.3 cm)	Curved, 2¾ in (7 cm)	21–23½ in (53.5–59.5 cm)
Five-panel camp	Low profile	3¼ in (8.3 cm)	Flat, 2½ in (6.4 cm)	21½–23½ in (54.5–59.5 cm)

One size per cap. Run a tape around your head just above the ears, keeping it level — anything inside the range above will close on it.

Two finishes

The same design, made two ways. Pick one in the panel; the cap and the quantity are yours to choose too.

Hand airbrushed
$85 for one hat, on a trucker
Painted to order — would ship in about 2 weeks
How it is made
How it is made
Sprayed by hand through this design's own stencils, one layer at a time, each left to dry before the next mask goes down.
How it looks
Soft gradients and hand-cut stencil edges. Every cap is a little different.
What it sits on
On a natural cotton twill front.
Durability and care
Water-based paint, heat set and sealed. It takes rain and a season on a boat; spot clean with cool water, never a washing machine.
Sublimation printed
$32 for one hat, on a trucker
Printed to order — would ship in 5–7 business days
How it is made
How it is made
The design is printed in dye onto transfer paper, then pressed with heat so the dye soaks into the polyester fibres.
How it looks
Full colour edge to edge, and identical every time.
What it sits on
On a white polyester foam front — sublimation only takes on white polyester.
Durability and care
The dye is in the fibre, not on it, so it will not crack or peel. Gentle wash, air dry.

The artwork

Two trout come up at once. The rainbow on the left flashes a rose pink stripe, the brown on the right glows honey ochre with black and crimson spots, and a third fish rolls beneath them. Between their open jaws hangs a small straw dry fly on a thin white line, while cerulean water breaks into spray at their tails.

It reads well from across a boat ramp or a campfire. People see the fly first, then the two fish chasing it. Wear it on early mornings at the put-in or in town afterwards, when the story of the day still needs telling.

Spotting decides whether these fish look alive. Keep the black spots varied in size and spacing, tighter along the back and sparser toward the belly, and set each crimson spot inside a pale ring so it sits on the brown trout rather than floating above it.

What arrives

The hat
A care card
On a hand airbrushed hat, a numbered tag naming the water it was painted from, when the design names one

A cap being spot-cleaned with a soft brush

Looking after it

Hand airbrushed

Spot clean with cool water and a soft brush. Never a washing machine.
Keep it out of a hot car for long stretches — heat-set paint is tough, but a dashboard in July is not a test worth running.
Reshape the brim by hand while damp.

Sublimation printed

Spot clean, or gently hand wash in cool water. No bleach.
Air dry. Do not iron the print.
Reshape the brim by hand while damp.
The dye is in the fibre, so the print will not crack or peel.

Details

Airbrush palette

Colours: cerulean blue, honey ochre, silver sage, rose pink, umber brown, black, crimson, straw, white

Details

Subject: rainbow and brown trout rising to a dry fly
Style: realistic wildlife illustration

Make it yourself

A hat-painting bench with a blank cap, stencils and an airbrush

AdvancedAbout 4½ hours at the bench, plus curing9 layersYou'll need an airbrush, a cap jig and 9 colours

The palette

Cerulean blue
Honey ochre
Silver sage
Rose pink
Umber brown
Black
Crimson
Straw
White

The layers

9 layers, in this order. Each mask comes off and the paint has to dry before the next one goes down.

Water
Brown trout base
Rainbow base
Rainbow stripe
Shading
Spots
Halo spots
Fly
Highlights

The kit's stencil set is cut from these layers; with the cutter (12 hats and up) you cut your own from this design's layer files.

How to mix each colour

Cerulean blue
Primary blue, a drop of white to lighten it, a drop of black to deepen it; build it in thin coats
Honey ochre
2 parts yellow, 1 part brown, a drop of black
Silver sage
2 parts green, 1 part white, a drop of black to dull it
Rose pink
1 part red to 4 parts white, a drop of blue if it looks salmon
Umber brown
Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
Black
Black from the bottle, sprayed in light passes; a heavy coat bleeds
Crimson
3 parts red, 1 part blue, a drop of black to deepen it
Straw
Mix by eye against the photograph; test on the card first
White
Opaque white from the bottle; two thin coats cover better than one thick one

Setup

Ventilation or a spray booth. Water-based paint still throws a fine mist, and you will be breathing it for hours.
A half-mask respirator rated for paint mists. A dust mask is not one.
A compressor with a moisture trap, set and tested on a card before you start: wet air spits water into the paint.
Reducer and a cleaning pot within reach, so a clog is a ten-second fix instead of a ruined panel.
Spray a test card for every colour before it touches the cap. Colour reads differently wet, dry and on twill.

Prep

Lint-roll the front panel. Every fibre left on it prints as a speck in the paint.
Mask the mesh, any seams you want clean and the whole visor, underside included, with low-tack tape and paper.
Stretch the crown over the cap jig so the front panel is taut and curved the way it will be worn. Spraying a slack panel flat distorts the design when it is worn.
Spray one light coat of transparent base so the colour sits on the fabric instead of soaking into it.

Layer by layer

1 · Water — 0.5 mm · 25–30 PSI
cerulean blue — the churning wave band across the bottom of the design
Mask None on the panel itself: the mesh and the visor are already masked from the prep.
Colour Cerulean blue — Primary blue, a drop of white to lighten it, a drop of black to deepen it; build it in thin coats
Needle
0.5 mm (a 0.35 mm works, it just takes longer)
Pressure
25–30 PSI
Distance
6–8 in from the panel
Passes
3–4 light passes, building the colour
Dry
10 minutes, or 60–90 seconds with a heat gun on low, before the next mask goes down
Tip Fade wet to dry and never lay one heavy coat: twill wicks paint sideways and the edge blooms.
2 · Brown trout base — 0.3 mm · 18–22 PSI
honey ochre — the bodies of the large brown trout and the smaller one below it
Mask The hand-cut subject stencil, inner pieces first, then the outline piece.
Colour Honey ochre — 2 parts yellow, 1 part brown, a drop of black
Needle
0.3 mm
Pressure
18–22 PSI
Distance
3–4 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes per tone, light to dark
Dry
10 minutes between tones
Tip Light tones first: a light colour over a dark one needs many coats, a dark one over a light one needs two.
3 · Rainbow base — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
silver sage — the body of the rainbow trout on the left
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Silver sage — 2 parts green, 1 part white, a drop of black to dull it
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
4 · Rainbow stripe — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
rose pink — the lateral band and gill plate of the rainbow
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Rose pink — 1 part red to 4 parts white, a drop of blue if it looks salmon
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
5 · Shading — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
umber brown — backs, fin edges, open mouths and the curve of each belly
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Umber brown — Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
6 · Spots — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
black — the dark spotting on all three fish and their pupils
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Black — Black from the bottle, sprayed in light passes; a heavy coat bleeds
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
7 · Halo spots — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
crimson — the red spots along the brown trout flanks
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Crimson — 3 parts red, 1 part blue, a drop of black to deepen it
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
8 · Fly — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
straw — the dry fly's body and wing hanging between the two fish
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Straw — Mix by eye against the photograph; test on the card first
Needle
0.35 mm
Pressure
20–25 PSI
Distance
4–6 in from the panel
Passes
2–3 passes
Dry
10 minutes before lifting the stencil
Tip Spray away from the stencil edge, not into it, so the air does not push paint underneath.
9 · Highlights — 0.2–0.3 mm · 12–15 PSI
white — spray, breaking crests, eye glints and the arcing line
Mask None: freehand, with a shield card held against any hard edge.
Colour White — Opaque white from the bottle; two thin coats cover better than one thick one
Needle
0.2–0.3 mm
Pressure
12–15 PSI
Distance
1–2 in from the panel
Passes
Freehand, in short controlled strokes
Dry
10 minutes, then check it before you cure
Tip Low pressure, close in and moving: stop the stroke before you release the trigger.

Step by step

Mask the wave band and spray cerulean blue at about 20 PSI with a 0.3 mm needle from 10–15 cm, building the troughs darker. These settings are a starting point; test on scrap first.
Mask both brown trout bodies and lay honey ochre at 18–20 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8–10 cm, keeping the bellies lighter.
Mask the rainbow body and spray silver sage at 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8–10 cm, in thin passes so the edge stays crisp.
Cut the rainbow's lateral stripe and gill plate mask and mist rose pink at 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 5–8 cm, soft at the edges.
Freehand umber brown along backs, fin edges and mouths at 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 3–5 cm, using a loose shield to keep fin lines sharp.
Place the spot stencil and dot black at 12–15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 2–4 cm, then add the pupils.
Add crimson halo spots on the brown trout flanks at 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 2–3 cm, leaving a thin pale ring around each.
Mask the dry fly and spray straw at 12–15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 3–5 cm, with a touch of umber at the wing base.
Finish with white at 15–20 PSI, 0.2 mm needle: spatter the spray from 10 cm, then tighten the crests, eye glints and line from 2–3 cm.
Let the piece dry fully, then heat-set and seal following your paint's directions before wearing.

Cure

Heat set at 300°F / 150°C. Water-based textile paint is not wash-fast until it is heat set.
Cap press: 3–5 minutes with a teflon sheet over the design.
Or heat gun: 2–3 minutes per panel, keeping it moving 2–3 in off the fabric so it does not scorch.
If you have neither, air cure for 72 hours before the cap touches water.

Seal

Two light coats of matte fabric sealer, UV-resistant, from 8–10 in, 15 minutes apart.
Leave it 24 hours before the cap is worn.
Never a gloss sealer on cotton twill: it shines, cracks along the creases and looks like a sticker.

Clean-up

Flush the brush with water, then airbrush cleaner, until it sprays clear.
Strip the needle and wipe it toward the tip, never away from it.
Never soak the brush body overnight.

Common mistakes

Uniform spots make the fish look stamped. Vary the size and spacing and let some spots fall off the edge of the fins.
Overloading the white spatter floods the water. Build it in short bursts from a distance and stop early.
Losing the fly against busy water. Leave clean space around it and keep its straw tone warm.
Heavy pink on the rainbow turns it cartoonish. Mist the stripe in thin layers and fade it into the sage.

Tips

Spray the water last on its upper edge so the white spray overlaps the fish tails and they look truly airborne.
Lower pressure for spots and glints; fine detail reads cleaner at 12 PSI than at 20.
Keep the rainbow cooler and the brown warmer so the two fish separate at a glance.
Tilt each fish slightly toward the fly so the line of sight pulls the whole design together.

An airbrush, compressor, moisture trap, six colour bottles and a cleaning pot. — The kit

Every kit size

Trucker · kit for 1 hat

$229

Bought separately $255 · you save $26

Includes Starter airbrush set · Cap jig · and 7 more

Every item in this kit · 9 items

Blanks

Trucker blank, natural cotton twill front$91

Stencils

Pre-cut mylar stencil set for this design — 9 layers$181

Paint & masks

Water-based textile airbrush colour, 2 oz — one per colour in this design$482 oz × 8
Transparent base and reducer, 4 oz$71
Low-tack masking film and ¼ in tape$81
Matte fabric sealer, 4 oz$121

Equipment

Starter airbrush set — 0.3 mm dual-action gravity brush, mini compressor, braided hose$1291
Cap jig — holds the crown taut while you spray$241

Guide

Printed step-by-step guide for this designIncluded1

Trucker · kit for 12 hats

$1,085

$90.42 a hat

Bought separately $1,234 · you save $149

Includes Dual-action gravity-feed airbrush · Quiet compressor with tank and moisture trap · Cap jig and two spare crown forms · Tabletop spray booth with exhaust fan · and 11 more

Every item in this kit · 15 items

Blanks

Trucker blank, natural cotton twill front$7812

Stencils

Desktop stencil cutter, 12 in — the "stencil printer": cuts mylar from this design's layer files$2991
Stencil mylar, 7 mil, 12 × 12 in$2210 sheets
This design's layer files, every layer (SVG)Included1

Paint & masks

Water-based textile airbrush colour, 4 oz — one per colour in this design$1124 oz × 8
Transparent base and reducer, 16 oz$161
Low-tack masking film$181 roll
Matte fabric sealer, 16 oz$281

Equipment

Dual-action gravity-feed airbrush, 0.3 mm$1351
Quiet compressor with tank and moisture trap$1791
Cap jig and two spare crown forms$641
Tabletop spray booth with exhaust fan$1491
Cleaning pot, brushes and a half-mask respirator$991
Heat gun for curing$351

Guide

Printed step-by-step guide for this designIncluded1

Trucker · kit for 12 × 12 hats

$3,165

$21.98 a hat

Bought separately $3,724 · you save $559

Includes Two dual-action gravity-feed airbrushes · Production airbrush · Twin-piston compressor with tank and two regulators · Production spray booth · and 13 more

Every item in this kit · 17 items

Blanks

Trucker blank, natural cotton twill front$756144

Stencils

Stencil cutter-plotter, 24 in — the production "stencil printer"$6491
Stencil mylar, 7 mil, 12 × 12 in$8550 sheets
This design's layer files, every layer (SVG)Included1

Paint & masks

Water-based textile airbrush colour, 32 oz — one per colour in this design$38432 oz × 8
Transparent base and reducer$491 gal
Low-tack masking film$543 rolls
Matte fabric sealer$891 gal

Equipment