The Fitted Cap Guide

• Crown: structured 6-panel, wool blend (80/20 acrylic-wool) or brushed cotton twill.
• Buckram: heavy (80–90gsm), fused to front two panels.
• Back: no closure gap; the back panels close directly to each other.
• Sweatband: leather-look PU or premium cotton; size tag stitched inside.
• Front embroidery: flat or 3D puff; teams and heritage brands are the target market.
• Visor: pre-curved slightly (6 stitch rows) is the fitted standard.

Fitted caps ship in eight discrete crown sizes. Head circumference is measured 2cm above the eyebrows, over the top of the ears; convert to fitted size via the ladder below.

Fitted programmes hit a bell curve. Order too flat and you'll stockpile 6 7/8 and 8; too steep and you'll sell out of 7 1/4 in a week. Typical retail distribution across a 1,000-unit run:

• 6 7/8 — 3%
• 7 — 8%
• 7 1/8 — 15%
• 7 1/4 — 22%
• 7 3/8 — 22%
• 7 1/2 — 15%
• 7 5/8 — 8%
• 7 3/4 — 5%
• 7 7/8 & 8 — 2% combined

Because every colourway ships across 8 sizes, MOQ per size is the constraint — factories won't cut fewer than 50 units of a size profitably. That puts a programme minimum at roughly 400–600 units per colourway, spread across the size curve. On team-fitted programmes with sponsor pressure, 1,000 units per colourway is more common.

• Flat size distribution — orders 100 of each size, sells out of 7 1/4 and 7 3/8 immediately, ships back 6 7/8 and 8 stock.
• Skipping the PU sweatband — a premium fitted with a cotton sweatband reads mid-tier.
• Reusing a snapback pattern — snapback crowns are 58cm mid-point, fitted needs a graded pattern per size.
• Not size-labelling the polybag — retail DC can't split the size run without printed size stickers.