Streambed Stonefly Nymph Trucker Hat
by @dekasso
Down where the trout look first.
A stonefly nymph on a sunlit streambed in teal, slate and tan, a realistic underwater scene for the front of a trucker hat.
A stonefly nymph crawls over a smooth rounded stone on a river bottom, lit by shafts of sun through the water. Deep teal and aqua water sit above slate blue cobbles, olive drab stone and a warm tan nymph.
- Stonefly nymph on a rounded river stone
- Pale cream sun shafts through teal water
- Slate blue and olive cobble streambed
- Eight layers, background to highlight
- Warm tan nymph with legs and antennae
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 stonefly nymph grips the top of a round stone, antennae forward, tails trailing. Light falls through the surface in pale cream shafts. Below, the bottom is a crowd of slate blue and olive cobbles, with a dark ledge rising on the right.
It reads as cool water from across a parking lot and as a bug study up close. Wear it on a gravel bar at dawn, at the fly shop counter, or anywhere someone turns over rocks to see what lives under them.
Light shafts in pale cream decide whether the water looks deep. Keep them thin at the surface, wider as they fall, and fade them out before they reach the stones so the nymph stays the brightest thing in the frame.
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
- deep teal, aqua, pale cream, slate blue, olive drab, burnt umber, warm tan
Details
- Subject
- stonefly nymph
- Style
- realistic underwater scene
Make it yourself
The palette
- Deep teal
- Aqua
- Pale cream
- Slate blue
- Olive drab
- Burnt umber
- Warm tan
The layers
8 layers, in this order. Each mask comes off and the paint has to dry before the next one goes down.
- Open water
- Upper water
- Light shafts
- Cobbles
- Boulder
- Shadows
- Nymph
- 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
Deep teal
2 parts blue, 1 part green, a touch of white to lift it
Aqua
Mix by eye against the photograph; test on the card first
Pale cream
White with a drop of yellow and the smallest touch of brown
Slate blue
White with blue and a touch of black, about 4 : 1 : ½
Olive drab
2 parts yellow, 1 part black, a drop of red to warm it
Burnt umber
Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
Warm tan
3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part 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 · Open water — 0.5 mm · 25–30 PSI
deep teal — the base fill of the water above the streambed
Mask None on the panel itself: the mesh and the visor are already masked from the prep.
Colour Deep teal — 2 parts blue, 1 part green, a touch of white to lift it
- 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 · Upper water — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
aqua — a lighter band just under the surface line
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Aqua — 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.
3 · Light shafts — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
pale cream — soft rays slanting down from the surface
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Pale cream — White with a drop of yellow and the smallest touch of 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.
4 · Cobbles — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
slate blue — the scatter of small round stones across the bottom
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Slate blue — 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.
5 · Boulder — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
olive drab — the big rounded stone in the centre and warm cobble tops
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.
6 · Shadows — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
burnt umber — gaps between stones, the ledge at right, the nymph's dark markings
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
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
- 0.35 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 · Nymph — 0.3 mm · 18–22 PSI
warm tan — segmented body, six legs, antennae and twin tails
Mask The hand-cut subject stencil, inner pieces first, then the outline piece.
Colour Warm tan — 3 parts white, 2 parts yellow, 1 part brown
- 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
pale cream — surface ripples, glints on stone tops, the shine on the nymph's back
Mask None: freehand, with a shield card held against any hard edge.
Colour Pale 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
Mask the outline of the scene and fill the open water with deep teal. As a starting point, try 20 PSI, a 0.3 mm needle and about 15 cm distance, in light even passes.
Without a mask, fade aqua across the top third so the water lightens toward the surface. Start near 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 15–20 cm, and blend the lower edge into the teal.
Lay a thin strip mask for each light shaft and mist pale cream at around 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 10 cm. Let each ray fade to nothing halfway down.
Mask the bottom band and stipple slate blue cobbles with a circle stencil. A starting point is 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8–10 cm, varying stone size as you go.
Cut a mask for the large central boulder and spray olive drab, then dust the tops of the nearer cobbles. Begin around 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 10 cm.
Freehand burnt umber into the gaps between stones, under the boulder and along the ledge at right. Try 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 5–8 cm for crisp shadow lines.
Place the nymph stencil on the boulder and fill the body, legs, antennae and tails with warm tan. Start near 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 5 cm, in short bursts.
Return to burnt umber at low pressure to mark the nymph's segments, wing pads and leg joints. Around 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 3–5 cm is a good starting point.
Finish with pale cream highlights: surface ripples, glints on stone tops and a sheen down the nymph's back. Begin at 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 5 cm.
Let the paint dry fully, then heat set according to your paint's instructions. Once cool, seal with a thin, even clear topcoat and let it cure 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
- Light shafts that run straight to the stones flatten the scene. Fade each ray out well above the bottom.
- Heavy passes of burnt umber turn the cobbles muddy. Build shadows in light coats and stop before the gaps fill solid.
- Spraying the nymph too far away blurs the legs. Move in close, drop the pressure, and work in short bursts.
- Sealing before the paint is fully dry can cloud the colours. Give it time to dry and heat set first.
Tips
- Test every colour and setting on scrap first; the pressures, needles and distances here are only a place to begin.
- Keep the nymph stencil cut clean at the legs and antennae. Thin parts lift easily, so press them down just before you spray.
- Vary the cobble sizes and leave small gaps of teal showing between them. A bottom with breathing room reads as deeper water.
- Spray highlights last and sparingly. A few bright glints carry more light than a wash of cream.
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
Remixes
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
trucker hat · made
0 — nothing entered the score yet, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- stonefly
- stonefly nymph
- nymph
- fly fishing
- trucker hat
- underwater
- streambed
- river
- trout stream
- light shafts
- teal
- cobbles