PROCESS: The Making of a New Era 59FIFTY

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With almost a century of experience in hat making, New Era has been at the forefront in manufacturing some of the world’s most celebrated caps to date. Improving on its products year after year while setting industry benchmarks, New Era has become a household name. Known throughout the professional sports realm, whether it be the MLB, NBA or NHL, New Era’s versatile 59FIFTY cap — also known as the fitted — has graced the heads of athletes and celebrities alike and has garnered attention for its work with Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and a host of heavy streetwear brands. Despite its simplicity of design and relatively unchanged silhouette, a surprising amount of work goes into the crafting of each cap. In this PROCESS we take closer look into the meticulous 22-step journey that a single 59FIFTY cap must go through from raw material to finished product — a process that utilizes the eyes and hands of 22 dedicated and loyal employees who together share a single dedication to quality and craftsmanship.

Photography: Brandon Shigeta

Steps

01 Materials
02 The Cutting Room
03 Cutting In Action
04 Bundling
05 Sewing Machine
06 Visor Stitching
07 Front & Back Seam of the Crown
08 Panel Stitching
09 Embroidery Machine
10 Glue Stick
11 Finished Embroidery
12 Panel Stitching
13 Printed Strip
14 Visor Stitching Machine
15 Digital Path For Visor Stitch
16 Visor Stitching
17 Visor Stitching
18 Sweat Band Machine
19 Label Sewing
20 The Top Stitch
21 Top Button Machine
22 Button Application
23 The Under View Of A Cap
24 Cooling Rack
25 Clean Up And Final Detailing
26 A Rack Of The Finished Product
27 Sticker Application
28 Boxing Finished Caps
29 Finished Supplies
30 Finished Cap

Step 1 / Materials

All the materials needed for a 59FFTY, clockwise from top: Top/Bottom Visor Fabric, Visor Board, Top Bottom Pieces, Tags, Visor Sticker, Tape, Sweat Band, Sizing Strip, Front Panels, Middle Panels, Back Panels.

Step 2 / The Cutting Room

Rolls of fabric are placed on the layout machine, where Layers of fabric are rolled onto the layout/cutting table and drawn up to the cutting area.

STEP 3 / Cutting In Action

Step 4 / Bundling

Bundling, where panel pieces are grouped by step. The bulk orders from cutting are divided into individual orders and the operator sorts the necessary parts, placing them into the tote box, along with an order form to identify the type of cap and size. Each tote will contain different parts of the cap: fronts, middle, backs, visors and sometimes under visors.

Step 5 / Sewing Machine

Sewing machine used to sew the front and back of caps.

Step 6 / Visor Stitching

A close up of visor stitching.

Step 7 / Front & Back Seam of the Crown

The machine where the operator sews the front seam and the back seam of the crown

Step 8 / Panel Stitching

Step 9 / Embroidery Machine

Digital logo design on an embroidery machine.

Step 10 / Glue Stick

A glue stick is applied to base of the embroidery machine to secure fabric pellon.

Step 11 / Finished Embroidery

Step 12 / Panel stitching

Step 13 / Printed Strip

A pre-measured, printed strip is applied to the base of the crown, making the cap a specified size. A size label is applied to the crown.

Step 14 / Visor Stitching Machine

Step 15 / Digital Path For Visor Stitch

Step 16 / Visor Stitching

Step 17 / Visor Stitching

Step 18 / Sweat Band Machine

A sweat band machine with feed.

Step 19 / Label Sewing

A label is sewn onto a cap. The edges of the starting and ending sweat band are overlapped evenly and sewn together. Each size, content and licensed label are folded down over the sweatband and sewn.