Slate Dusk Hopper Trucker Hat

Last light, and one hopper holding still

A grasshopper perched on a twisted branch over midnight slate, in khaki, olive and cream, as a trucker hat design for hopper season.

A grasshopper rests on a bare, twisted branch against a deep slate-blue dusk full of faint twigs. Khaki tan and olive drab shape the hopper, with driftwood cream and umber brown on the branch and crisp charcoal black lines.

Grasshopper perched on a twisted bare branch
Midnight slate ground with steel-blue twigs
Khaki tan and olive drab insect
Driftwood cream branch with umber shadows
Fine charcoal black linework

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 grasshopper grips a pale, knotted branch, hind legs cocked, antennae up. Behind it, steel-blue twigs fade into midnight slate, and a soft patch of mist blue sits low on the left like water at dusk.

Wear it on late-summer banks when the grass is loud with hoppers. From across the river people see the cream branch and the tan insect first, then the dark twigs settle in around them.

Charcoal black linework carries this design. Keep the outlines thin and steady on the legs and wing edges, and the hopper reads sharp even against the dark ground.

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: midnight slate, steel blue, mist blue, driftwood cream, umber brown, khaki tan, olive drab, charcoal black

Details

Subject: grasshopper
Style: realistic illustration on a dark painted ground

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 8 colours

The palette

Midnight slate
Steel blue
Mist blue
Driftwood cream
Umber brown
Khaki tan
Olive drab
Charcoal black

The layers

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

Ground
Twigs
Glint
Branch
Branch shadow
Hopper body
Hopper detail
Linework
Highlight

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

Midnight slate
White with blue and a touch of black, about 4 : 1 : ½
Steel blue
Primary blue, a drop of white to lighten it, a drop of black to deepen it; build it in thin coats
Mist blue
Primary blue, a drop of white to lighten it, a drop of black to deepen it; build it in thin coats
Driftwood cream
White with a drop of yellow and the smallest touch of brown
Umber brown
Equal parts red, yellow and blue, then a drop of black to deepen it; or burnt umber straight from the bottle
Khaki tan
4 parts white, 1 part yellow, a drop of brown; a drop of green for khaki
Olive drab
2 parts yellow, 1 part black, a drop of red to warm it
Charcoal black
1 part white to 3 parts black, a drop of blue

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 · Ground — 0.5 mm · 25–30 PSI
midnight slate — a deep blue-grey fill across the whole panel, darkest at the top.
Mask None on the panel itself: the mesh and the visor are already masked from the prep.
Colour Midnight slate — White with blue and a touch of black, about 4 : 1 : ½
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 · Twigs — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
steel blue — faint bare branches fanning up behind the insect.
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Steel blue — Primary blue, a drop of white to lighten it, a drop of black to deepen it; build it in thin coats
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 · Glint — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
mist blue — a soft pale patch low on the left, like water catching the last light.
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Mist blue — Primary blue, a drop of white to lighten it, a drop of black to deepen it; build it in thin coats
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 · Branch — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
driftwood cream — a bare, twisted branch running across the lower half.
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Driftwood 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.
5 · Branch shadow — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
umber brown — grooves, knots and the undersides of the branch.
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 · Hopper body — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
khaki tan — head, thorax, abdomen and the long folded wings.
Mask Lay this layer's mylar stencil and burnish the edges flat with your thumbnail.
Colour Khaki tan — 4 parts white, 1 part yellow, a drop of brown; a drop of green for khaki
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 · Hopper detail — 0.35 mm · 20–25 PSI
olive drab — wing veins, leg banding and shading along the belly.
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.
8 · Linework — 0.3 mm · 18–22 PSI
charcoal black — outlines, the eye, abdomen segments and the spiny hind legs.
Mask The hand-cut subject stencil, inner pieces first, then the outline piece.
Colour Charcoal black — 1 part white to 3 parts black, a drop of blue
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.
9 · Highlight — 0.2–0.3 mm · 12–15 PSI
driftwood cream — a thin catch of light along the back and hind leg.
Mask None: freehand, with a shield card held against any hard edge.
Colour Driftwood 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 degrease the panel, then mask off everything outside the design area with low-tack tape.
Midnight slate: spray the full ground with no mask, building darker toward the top. Starting point: 25 PSI, 0.5 mm needle, 15 cm distance.
Steel blue: use a loose twig mask or freehand shield and mist faint branches fanning upward. Starting point: 20 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8 cm distance.
Mist blue: soft-edge the pale glint low on the left with a torn paper shield. Starting point: 18 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 10 cm distance.
Driftwood cream: lay the branch mask and fill the branch in two light coats. Starting point: 22 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 8 cm distance.
Umber brown: keep the branch mask on and shade grooves, knots and undersides. Starting point: 18 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 5 cm distance.
Khaki tan: cut the hopper mask and fill head, body and wings evenly. Starting point: 20 PSI, 0.3 mm needle, 6 cm distance.
Olive drab: through the same mask, add wing veins, leg bands and belly shading. Starting point: 15 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 4 cm distance.
Charcoal black: remove masks and pull the outlines, eye, segments and leg spines freehand. Starting point: 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 2–3 cm distance.
Driftwood cream: add a thin highlight along the back and the top of the hind leg. Starting point: 12 PSI, 0.2 mm needle, 3 cm distance.
Treat all settings as a starting point; test each on scrap first and adjust for your paint and humidity.
Let the paint cure for 24 hours, then heat-set if your paint calls for it.
Seal with two light coats of a flexible, water-resistant fabric topcoat and let it cure fully 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

Muddy branch shading: let the driftwood cream dry fully before adding umber brown.
Hopper sinking into the ground: give the khaki tan two even coats so it stays bright over the dark slate.
Heavy outlines: work the charcoal black at low pressure and close range, building lines in passes.
Paint creeping under masks: burnish mask edges and spray light coats rather than one wet pass.

Tips

Thin the charcoal black a touch more than the other colours so the fine legs stay crisp without spitting.
Keep the steel-blue twigs faint; they should sit behind the hopper, never compete with it.
Leave a sliver of slate between the branch and the hopper's feet so the insect reads as resting on top.
Practice the leg spines on paper until the short flicks feel easy.

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