Hat needle plate.....

[Denis Kolar]

....does anybody use it?

I have been looking to buy a hat needle plate for my Tajima and use it when working on the hats. Is there a huge benefit of having a raised needle plate like that?
Right now I use a universal needle plate, but I have been doing a lot of caps lately and I think hat I could benefit from it.

Thanks

[dburgessjr]

I use ours every time we do hats.  I feel like there is less bounce between the plate and the pressure foot.  And I, personally, see a difference in sew quality as well.

[shellyky]

I used to do it on our SWF's but i have seen no advantage or difference in less stops/sew quality with using flat plates.  never use a hat plate on a flat garment though -- thats a disaster LOL

[Denis Kolar]

Thanks.

I think I will give it a shot, but it just bugs me a $60 price for a piece of steel with 3 holes (or 5 depending on the model)

[mooseman]

You can test this for your  self before you drop the cash on commercial cap plates...take a piece of the white hard plastic that you see in 3 ring binders. Cut it to a disk shape about 3/8 in dia and drill a hole in the center equal to that of you standard plate. Place it over your standard needle plate then wrap a piece of electrical tape all around the sew arm to hold the disk in place and provide a smooth ramp to and from the disk you made.
Be sure to trim the tape well away from the through needle hole so it doesn't interfere with the needle / thread path.

mooseman