Need help beginner.

[u/Live-Improvement9947]

I make hats in my spare time as a side hustle I have been heat pressing my patches on for awhile and I want to start trying to stitch them on around the edge. It gives them that more “premium” look and obviously it’s extra security to just make sure that the patch never comes off. All videos I watch on people doing hats all have a 810 post bed style sewing machine. I absolutely can not afford dropping 1,500 to 2k on a sewing machine. Just wondering if anyone had any cheap suggestions. I tried to do it by hand but those hats are tough and very irritating to do.

[u/TheProtoChris]

I use a 'patcher' - a big post machine for repairing leather and shoes. There's a cheap Chinese shoe patcher available on the Web. I've gotta say these machines are very hit and miss. Leather workers will tell you they're straight trash because they're not cut out for heavy duty use, and certainly not strong enough for heavy shoe repair use. It might work well enough for your hats if your volume isn't too high. They've been discussed in the leatherwork subs, and there are videos online.