Sushi Cap

A sushi cap stitched from two colours and nothing else

A single piece of nigiri — salmon over rice — embroidered on the front panel of a low-profile cap. The sushi cap is the most reduced design in the headwear run, and reduction is exactly what embroidery rewards.

Two colours, two shapes. The salmon is stitched in horizontal rows that mimic the grain of the fish, the rice in tighter vertical stitches that catch light differently, and the whole subject reads at a glance from several metres away. Nigiri is itself a study in reduction — Edo-period fast food, invented as something a worker could eat standing at a stall in the 1820s, stripped to fish, rice and a smear of wasabi. The design matches the dish in method as well as subject.

What thread adds here is dimension. Rice embroidered flat would be a white shape; stitched in short directional rows it gains the slight granularity of actual grains. Look closely and the two textures behave differently under light, which is the effect that separates a good badge from a printed sticker.

It comes in black, stone, pink, light blue and white. Black makes the salmon glow and is the sharpest of the five. Stone and white keep it quiet and let the orange do all the work. Pink is the most tonal reading, close to the colour of the fish itself, and light blue is the coldest and cleanest.

Six panels, unstructured crown, pre-curved brim, adjustable strap, one size. The adjustable strap is the reason a single size works: it sets the fit at the back rather than relying on the crown to stretch, which is what keeps the front panel flat and the embroidery undistorted.

Hand wash and air dry — never a machine, and never a dryer. Heat shrinks a crown unevenly, and an uneven crown pulls a centred badge visibly off-centre.

• Type: Graphic dad hat
• Construction: Six-panel, unstructured crown, pre-curved brim
• Design: Front embroidery — salmon nigiri sushi
• Fit: One size, adjustable back strap
• Colours: Black, stone, pink, light blue, white
• Care: Hand wash, air dry, do not machine wash
• Wear it with: An oversized tee, easy sneakers