Golden Seedhead Hopper Trucker Hat
by @dekasso
Late summer, and the grass is jumping.
A grasshopper perched on a curved seed head over silver water, in wheat tan, olive and forest green, for hopper-season days on the stream.
A grasshopper rests on an arching grass seed head above a slow, glinting stream. It is coloured in wheat tan, olive drab and burnt umber over a deep forest green and golden ochre haze.
- Grasshopper perched on an arching seed head
- Silver-gray stream glinting below
- Deep forest green and golden ochre haze
- Fine burnt umber legs and wing veins
- Cream highlights on wings and water
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
| 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
A grasshopper clings to a bending stalk, legs folded, antennae up. Behind it the brush goes dark green and soft, and a stream catches the light in silver streaks. Everything glows a little gold, like the last warm hour of a long day.
Wear it on the bank in August when the grass is loud with them. People see the insect first, then the water behind it. Anglers tend to know exactly what it means.
Burnt umber linework carries the whole insect. Keep it thin and crisp on the legs and wing veins, and let the soft background stay soft so the grasshopper reads sharp against 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
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
- golden ochre, deep forest green, silver gray, olive drab, wheat tan, burnt umber, cream
Details
- Subject
- grasshopper
- Style
- realistic wildlife illustration
Make it yourself
The palette
- Golden ochre
- Deep forest green
- Silver gray
- Olive drab
- Wheat tan
- Burnt umber
- Cream
The layers
8 layers, in this order. Each mask comes off and the paint has to dry before the next one goes down.
- Glow
- Far foliage
- Water
- Tall blades
- Seed head
- Grasshopper
- Linework
- 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
Golden ochre
2 parts yellow, 1 part brown, a drop of black
Deep forest green
2 parts green, 1 part black, a drop of blue to cool it
Silver gray
Metallic silver, or 6 parts white to 1 part black in a pearl or metallic medium
Olive drab
2 parts yellow, 1 part black, a drop of red to warm it
Wheat tan
3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part brown
Burnt umber
Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
Cream
White with a drop of yellow and the smallest touch of brown
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 · Glow — 0.5 mm · 25–30 PSI
golden ochre — a warm haze washed across the whole panel
Mask None on the panel itself: the mesh and the visor are already masked from the prep.
Colour Golden ochre — 2 parts yellow, 1 part brown, a drop of black
- 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 · Far foliage — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
deep forest green — a dark, soft band of blurred brush behind the insect
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Deep forest green — 2 parts green, 1 part black, a drop of blue to cool 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.
3 · Water — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
silver gray — a glinting stream reflection low across the panel
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Silver gray — Metallic silver, or 6 parts white to 1 part black in a pearl or metallic medium
- 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 · Tall blades — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
olive drab — curving grass stems rising up the right side
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Olive drab — 2 parts yellow, 1 part black, a drop of red to warm 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.
5 · Seed head — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
wheat tan — an arching stalk with a feathered seed head reaching left
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Wheat tan — 3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part brown
- 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 · Grasshopper — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
wheat tan — the body, folded wings and long jumping legs
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Wheat tan — 3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part brown
- 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 · Linework — 0.3 mm · 18–22 PSI
burnt umber — leg joints, body segments, wing veins, antennae and stem edges
Mask The hand-cut subject stencil, inner pieces first, then the outline piece.
Colour Burnt umber — Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
- 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.
8 · Highlights — 0.2–0.3 mm · 12–15 PSI
cream — sparks on the water and bright edges on wings, legs and stalk
Mask None: freehand, with a shield card held against any hard edge.
Colour Cream — White with a drop of yellow and the smallest touch of brown
- 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
Clean and mask off the panel edges. Spray golden ochre freehand as a light wash over the whole area at about 20 PSI, 0.5 mm needle, 15–20 cm away. Treat all settings here as a starting point and test on scrap first.
Lay a loose torn-paper mask along the upper third and mist deep forest green in soft passes at 20 PSI, 0.5 mm needle, 15 cm, keeping the edges blurred for distant foliage.
Mask the lower band with a wavy-edged stencil and spray silver gray in horizontal strokes at 18 PSI, 0.35 mm needle, 10–12 cm, leaving gaps of ochre to read as ripples.
Cut the tall blade stencil and spray olive drab up the right side at 18 PSI, 0.35 mm needle, 8–10 cm. Let it dry fully before lifting the mask.
Place the seed head stencil and fill the arching stalk and feathered head with wheat tan at 16 PSI, 0.35 mm needle, 8 cm.
Position the grasshopper silhouette mask so the feet sit on the stalk. Spray wheat tan for the body, wings and legs at 16 PSI, 0.35 mm needle, 8 cm.
Lay the detail stencil and add burnt umber for segments, leg joints, wing veins and antennae at 12–15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 3–5 cm. Shade under the body to lift it off the stem.
Finish with cream through a highlight stencil, or freehand dots, on the wing edges, leg tops, stalk and water sparks at 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 3–5 cm.
Let the paint cure for at least 24 hours somewhere warm and dust-free.
Seal with two light coats of a fabric-safe clear sealer, drying between coats, then heat-set if your paint calls for it.
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
- Hard edges on the forest green background flatten the depth. Keep that mask lifted slightly off the surface for a soft fade.
- Thick umber legs make the insect look clumsy. Drop the pressure and move in close with the fine needle.
- Lifting stencils too early smears wet paint into the next layer. Wait until each coat is dry to the touch.
- Spraying too heavy on fabric causes bleeding along stencil lines. Build colour in several thin passes.
Tips
- Spray the background colours a shade lighter than you think; the burnt umber linework will darken the overall look.
- Keep the grasshopper stencil cut from thin, flexible film so it hugs the curve of the panel and the legs stay sharp.
- Pull the silver gray strokes in one direction only, left to right, so the water reads as flowing rather than patchy.
- Test the cream highlights on scrap first; a few small sparks do more than a wide spray.
Every kit size
Trucker · kit for 1 hat
$224
Bought separately $249 · you save $25
Includes Starter airbrush set · Cap jig · and 7 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Blanks
- Trucker blank, natural cotton twill front$9
Stencils
- Pre-cut mylar stencil set for this design — 8 layers$18
Paint & masks
- Water-based textile airbrush colour, 2 oz — one per colour in this design$42
- Transparent base and reducer, 4 oz$7
- Low-tack masking film and ¼ in tape$8
- Matte fabric sealer, 4 oz$12
Equipment
- Starter airbrush set — 0.3 mm dual-action gravity brush, mini compressor, braided hose$129
- Cap jig — holds the crown taut while you spray$24
Guide
- Printed step-by-step guide for this designIncluded
Trucker · kit for 12 hats
$1,073
$89.42 a hat
Bought separately $1,220 · you save $147
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$78
Stencils
- Desktop stencil cutter, 12 in — the "stencil printer": cuts mylar from this design's layer files$299
- Stencil mylar, 7 mil, 12 × 12 in$22
- This design's layer files, every layer (SVG)Included
Paint & masks
- Water-based textile airbrush colour, 4 oz — one per colour in this design$98
- Transparent base and reducer, 16 oz$16
- Low-tack masking film$18
- Matte fabric sealer, 16 oz$28
Equipment
- Dual-action gravity-feed airbrush, 0.3 mm$135
- Quiet compressor with tank and moisture trap$179
- Cap jig and two spare crown forms$64
- Tabletop spray booth with exhaust fan$149
- Cleaning pot, brushes and a half-mask respirator$99
- Heat gun for curing$35
Guide
- Printed step-by-step guide for this designIncluded
Trucker · kit for 12 × 12 hats
$3,124
$21.69 a hat
Bought separately $3,676 · you save $552
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$756
Stencils
- Stencil cutter-plotter, 24 in — the production "stencil printer"$649
- Stencil mylar, 7 mil, 12 × 12 in$85
- This design's layer files, every layer (SVG)Included
Paint & masks
- Water-based textile airbrush colour, 32 oz — one per colour in this design$336
- Transparent base and reducer$49
- Low-tack masking film$54
- Matte fabric sealer$89
Equipment
- Two dual-action gravity-feed airbrushes, 0.3 mm$270
- Production airbrush, 0.5 mm, for base fades$95
- Twin-piston compressor with tank and two regulators$329
- Production spray booth, two fans$289
- Three cap jigs$192
- Cleaning station, respirator and spare cartridges$139
- Cap heat press for curing$279
- Drying rack, 24 caps$65
Guide
- Printed step-by-step guide for this designIncluded
The creator
Where this came from
trucker hat · made
2 remixes
50 — from 2 remixes, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- grasshopper
- hopper
- trucker hat
- fly fishing
- terrestrial
- seed head
- grass
- stream
- summer
- insect art
- olive
- gold