Alpine Trout Rise Trucker Hat

Snow on the peaks, rings on the pool.

A spotted trout under snowy alpine peaks, with a rise spreading across a teal stream, in peach gold, pine green and rose pink.

A spotted trout cruises a high mountain pool while rings spread from a rise beside a small insect on the water. Peach gold sky, slate grey peaks, pine green forest and river teal water frame the fish's bronze body and rose pink band.

Spotted trout with a rose pink side band
Snowy slate grey peaks under peach gold sky
Rise rings around an insect on the pool
Winding river teal stream through pine forest
Ten colour layers, sky to highlights

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

A trout slides along the bottom edge, bronze and spotted, a rose pink band down its side. Just ahead, rings open on the pool around a small insect. Behind it all, a stream bends out of a valley of pine and meadow toward peaks still holding snow under a peach gold sky.

It reads well from across a trailhead lot or a campfire ring. People tend to spot the peaks first, then find the fish, then notice the rise and ask where the water is.

Ink black detail carries this piece. Keep the trout's spots small and varied, and leave the fin edges crisp, so the fish stays sharp against the softer landscape behind 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: peach gold, slate grey, snow white, pine green, meadow olive, river teal, trout bronze, rose pink, ink black

Details

Subject: trout
Style: painted landscape

Make it yourself

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

AdvancedAbout 4½ hours at the bench, plus curing10 layersYou'll need an airbrush, a cap jig and 9 colours

The palette

Peach gold
Slate grey
Snow white
Pine green
Meadow olive
River teal
Trout bronze
Rose pink
Ink black

The layers

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

Sky
Peaks
Snowfields
Forest
Meadow
Stream
Trout body
Side band
Detail
Rise

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

Peach gold
3 parts yellow, 1 part brown, a touch of white so it stays opaque
Slate grey
White with blue and a touch of black, about 4 : 1 : ½
Snow white
Opaque white from the bottle; two thin coats cover better than one thick one
Pine green
2 parts green, 1 part black, a drop of blue to cool it
Meadow olive
2 parts yellow, 1 part black, a drop of red to warm it
River teal
2 parts blue, 1 part green, a touch of white to lift it
Trout bronze
Mix by eye against the photograph; test on the card first
Rose pink
1 part red to 4 parts white, a drop of blue if it looks salmon
Ink black
Black from the bottle, sprayed in light passes; a heavy coat bleeds

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 · Sky — 0.5 mm · 25–30 PSI
peach gold — a warm glow fading down behind the peaks
Mask None on the panel itself: the mesh and the visor are already masked from the prep.
Colour Peach gold — 3 parts yellow, 1 part brown, a touch of white so it stays opaque
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 · Peaks — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
slate grey — a jagged ridgeline of rock across the horizon
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Slate grey — White with blue and a touch of black, about 4 : 1 : ½
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 · Snowfields — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
snow white — snow caught in the gullies and on the summits
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Snow white — Opaque white from the bottle; two thin coats cover better than one thick one
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 · Forest — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
pine green — a dark tree line along the far bank and scattered spruce
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Pine 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.
5 · Meadow — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
meadow olive — grassy banks, reeds and a leafy bush on the right shore
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Meadow olive — 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.
6 · Stream — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
river teal — the water winding out of the valley into a wide pool
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour River teal — 2 parts blue, 1 part green, a touch of white to lift 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.
7 · Trout body — 0.3 mm · 18–22 PSI
trout bronze — the fish's long body and fins at the left edge
Mask The hand-cut subject stencil, inner pieces first, then the outline piece.
Colour Trout bronze — Mix by eye against the photograph; test on the card first
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 · Side band — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
rose pink — the stripe along the flank and the blush on the gill plate
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.
9 · Detail — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
ink black — spots, fin edges, eye and fine outlines
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Ink 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.
10 · Rise — 0.2–0.3 mm · 12–15 PSI
snow white — rings spreading on the pool, a small insect on the surface and glints on the water
Mask None: freehand, with a shield card held against any hard edge.
Colour Snow 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 full artwork outline. Spray peach gold across the top for the sky, fading downward. Start around 20 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 15 cm distance; treat these as a starting point.
Cover the sky with a ridgeline mask and spray slate grey for the peaks. Around 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 10 cm. Add a second, lighter pass on the sunlit faces.
Use a cut snowfield stencil and spray snow white into the gullies and summits. Around 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 6 cm, in short bursts.
Mask the tree line and spray pine green along the far bank and for scattered spruce. Around 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8 cm.
Spray meadow olive for the banks, reeds and the right-hand bush through a loose grass stencil. Around 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 10 cm.
Mask the stream shape from valley to pool and spray river teal, darker at the banks and lighter in the middle. Around 20 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 10 cm.
Mask the trout silhouette and spray trout bronze for the body and fins. Around 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 6 cm.
Lay the side band stencil and spray rose pink along the flank and gill plate. Around 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 5 cm.
Use a detail stencil for ink black spots, eye, fin edges and outlines. Around 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 4 cm, or freehand the finest lines.
Finish with snow white for the rise rings, the insect and glints on the water. Around 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 4 cm.
Let the paint cure for at least 24 hours somewhere dry and dust-free.
Seal with two light coats of a flexible fabric sealer, letting each coat dry fully before the next.

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

Spraying snow white too heavy, which blots the peaks; use short bursts at low pressure.
Lifting masks before the paint sets, which smears edges; wait until each layer is dry to the touch.
Making all trout spots the same size, which looks stamped; vary them and cluster them toward the back.
Skipping the cure time before sealing, which can cloud the colours; give it a full day.

Tips

Test every colour on scrap fabric first; peach gold and rose pink can shift once they dry.
Build the sky and water in thin passes so the fade stays soft and even.
Cut the trout and side band stencils from the same tracing so they line up exactly.
Keep the rise rings thin and slightly broken; full circles look stiff.

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 — 10 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