This message was posted by HERB on AmayaUsers.com. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY VIA EMAIL. Instead, respond to the thread on the WEBSITE by clicking here: http://www.amayausers.com/boards/ultimatebb.php?/topic/2/927.html#000012 With caps you have to deal with three separate curves. #1 The bill.You want to get it straight. Bend it back past straight. This will give you the ability to get the straps teeth into the seam. If you cannot get the teeth into the seam all the way across the bill, you did not get it straight enough. #2 The roundness of the cap. The key to it is to get it to be the same shape as the ring gauge. This makes it fit the machine as it should. This is where I rub the face to get it to fit nice and snug on the ring gauge. If you do not get it "FLAT" you will experience flagging and the accompanying thread issues. #3 The curve from the bill to the crown. At some point the face of the cap begins to curve as it reaches the upper area. This changes every time you select a different cap. You can sew farther up the center than off to the sides, but only by a small amount. Melco says you can sew a 3 inch design on a cap with the XT and I can say they are correct. BUT, the cap is the limiting factor, not the XT. I limit my low profile structured to 2 inches max. Low profile unstructured are 2 1/4 inches max. From there the designs get taller as I go to a mid profile/pro style cap. Again though, not all manufacture them with the same dimensions so you have to chek them. Finally I get to the old 5 panel trucker style, this is where you can get the 3 inches. I trace the 1st cap on each machine but after that I dont trace at all. I only move left/right to get center. I will say I have never had a cap get pushed off the hoop. I know the video makes it look easy and with lots of practice practice practice it will become easier for you as well. =========================================================== The AmayaUsers Mailing List Website: http://www.amayausers.com Discussion Board: http://www.amayausers.com/boards Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://www.amayausers.com/list ===========================================================