U.S.-Made Mechanic’s Cap & CCC Patch

Note: Shown is the cap after one washing with the patch attached. This particular cap has traveled throughout England and Wales during our prototyping process. 

Better than a baseball cap, our interpretation of the A-3 mechanic’s cap is made by a family-run business in Los Angeles and comes with an embroidered patch that is an homage to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

This is our first batch of A-3 caps, and we chose a nice 9-ounce U.S.-made brown twill for the body, with the inside seams taped in a white herringbone. Each run of caps will be a different color and fabric. So if you don’t like this color, be patient. And if you do like this color, don’t wait to buy it. This fabric is deadstock and discontinued.

The hat has a soft brim – no cardboard or plastic inside like a cheap hat. They are a tiny bit oversized, but shrink to a true fit after a washing. Like all our workwear, these caps are designed to last for decades and only look better with wear. 

To accompany the hat, we designed an embroidered patch based on a vintage CCC patch. The original patch featured “CCC” at the top and a yellow surveyor’s transit. I put a jack plane at the top of the patch and our dividers in yellow on the left.

You can buy the hat plus the patch (the patch is *not* sewn to the cap; we leave that to you). Or you can buy the patch by itself.

The hat comes in three sizes.

They run a little large, but they shrink a wee bit during the first wash.

Why did we make an A-3 mechanic’s cap? I love how the brim can be snapped upward so you can do perform close work at the bench. Doing this doesn’t improve your IQ, but it’s a handy feature.