Custom bucket hat and dad hat FAQ
What is the minimum order for custom bucket hats?
There is no hard minimum on embroidery or leather patch. Pricing starts at the 12-23 tier and breaks every 24 pieces, with the best decoration price at 144 and up.
How much does a custom bucket hat cost?
Decoration is $8.00 per hat at 12-23 down to $5.00 at 144+, for embroidery or a leather patch. The blank is quoted per job, usually the same business day. See the pricing page for the full tables.
Why is the blank price quoted per job?
Bucket, dad and 5-panel blank prices move with the maker, the color and the warehouse. We quote the live number rather than list a stale one. Our rule is supplier cost times two under $10, or cost plus 35 percent at $10 and up.
How long does an order take?
Standard turnaround is 28 days from the day you approve the digital proof. Rush is quoted per job.
Do you do leather patches on bucket hats?
Yes. Glued on cotton buckets like the Decky 961 and 450; sewn (+$1 per hat) on terry and ripstop. Patches are laser-engraved in-house on an 80-watt CO2 laser.
Embroidery or leather patch: which is better on a dad hat?
Both work. Small embroidery is the classic dad-hat look. A patch avoids stitch pull on the soft crown and has no digitizing fee. The price is within fifty cents per hat either way.
Can you embroider an unstructured hat without puckering?
Yes. We hoop soft crowns on a cap frame with a cutaway backing and keep fills light. The proof flags artwork that is too dense.
Is there a setup fee?
Embroidery digitizing is $18.99 one time per design. Leather patches have no setup fee. Reorders of a saved design have no setup fee.
What artwork do you need?
Vector (AI, EPS, PDF, SVG) is best. A 300 dpi PNG works for embroidery. Leather patches need solid black-and-white art; no gradients.
Do I get a proof?
Yes, a digital proof showing the logo or patch at true size on the chosen hat and color. Nothing is produced until you approve it.
Can I mix hat styles and colors in one order?
Yes. The same logo across styles and colors counts as one quantity for the decoration price break. Each style gets its own blank price line.
What sizes do bucket hats come in?
Decky buckets and boonies come in S/M and L/XL. Dad hats and 5-panels on this site are one size (strap or snapback). Size does not change the price.
Do you make custom camo hats?
Yes. Decky 5301 ripstop camo bucket, Decky 5303 camo boonie, Richardson 112PFP printed camo 5-panel and Decky 6304 Multicam 5-panel, with a patch or single-color embroidery.
Can I supply my own hats?
Yes. Decoration is the normal per-hat price plus $2.00 per item handling. Industry spoilage allowance is about 4 percent; we aim for zero.
Do you do DTF or printed patches on hats?
No. On hats we do embroidery and laser-engraved leather patches. We do not make woven patches.
Do you run team or company online stores?
No. We do straightforward bulk orders with one invoice and one or more ship-to addresses.
What happens if you make a mistake?
We redo our own errors for free.
Where are you and do you ship nationwide?
Bucket Hat Co. is a brand of Battle Born Clothing, 3 Pebble Beach Dr, Yerington, NV 89447. We ship anywhere in the US.
Can you decorate Melin or other premium hats?
Melin is customer-supplied only. We are an authorized decorator for Carhartt, Nike and OGIO; those blanks are quoted per job with brand pricing respected.
How do I get a quote?
Use the form on this site. Send artwork, quantity, style and colors, decoration and your date. Quotes usually go out the same business day.
Get a quote
Tell us what you need and we'll price it from real blank costs and our decoration matrix. Quotes usually go out the same business day.