TGIF: Summer Sale, Achtung Panzer! & Ready with Velcro for Rubber Week!

In preparation with rubber week,  we have been using our new Pfaff 96 sewing machine.

It's fabulous. The older metal machines are meant to sew through virtually anything... built tough like a Panzer. That is the new nickname of our new beloved Pfaff sewing machine. It's well made, sturdy and made to work efficiently for many years. It's difficult to pinpoint the exact year of the 96. There is not enough information online to make a positive id. One clue is the 'Made in West Germany' label on the back of the machine.

Achtung Panzer!

photo Red Dots Cycling

Made in 'Western Germany'.

photo Red Dots Cycling

Built tough like a Panzer.

We already started with first prep of the new and improved inner tube wallet. Richard has cleaned and cut the tubes for me to sew the fabric. We will have a more detailed post on our new wallet upcoming!

Love Velcro!

photo: Red Dots Cycling

We love Velcro. We use quite a lot of it in our wallets. There's something magical about the common fastener. It comes as a two-piece loop and hook and mates naturally to form a tight closure. We have a new supplier and purchase two rolls to last for quite sometime. And, the price couldn't be beat!



Our Spring Sale is now our Summer Sale on selected caps, pouches and wallets. We decided to extend our 25-40% Off Sale while quantities last!

Our indiegogo Campaign Update: L'equipe Perk Shipped! Rubber Side Down.

Today...

L'equipe packed and ready to ship!

photos Red Dots Cycling

Here's an update on our indiegogo campaign...

We are happy to announce that our L'equipe perk is successfully completed and shipped today! Congratulations to our recipients of our special edition embroidered cycling cap... you are part of our team!

We are busy prepping inner tubes for our next perk... Le Domestique. The new special edition inner tube wallet will also be produced and sold as a regular stock item through our online store.

Today, we happily discovered 50 meters of velcro like hook and loop fastener fabric from our new supplier. Now we have ample supply of the fastener destined for our new upcoming wallet!

TGIF: Special Edition Cycling Cap, Spring Sale & Le Tour de France

First look at our new embroidered cycling cap!

photo Red Dots Cycling

For us TGIF is the day that we realize ... it's Friday! And, where has the week gone?

We are moving closer to finishing our first crowdfunding perk. As I write the brims are on and I'm about to finish with the final threading. And good news! We decided to make a few more Special Edition caps and will put them in our website for purchase. That should happen within 24-48 hours!

I'm busy cutting and prepping more inner tubes for the upcoming new wallet. Some will go to fulfill the Le Domestique perk!

Our popular Spring Sale continues. That's right! We have slashed prices 25-40% off on most in-stock items, get them now... it's time!

I'm excited, it's 14 days and counting until the 100th edition of the Tour de France! It will start in Corsica on June 29th. Check out my cyclingart post for a Tour de France post.

Allez Tour!
100th Edition of the Tour starts June 29th!

Saying of the day...

Image from the Tour du Suisse...

David Millar, stage 2.
via Castelli Cycling

Have a good Friday!

Richard

Spring Cleaning is On!

The classic on sale...

One left: S/M - Tempo cycling cap.

photo Red Dots Cycling

Some of you may have notice that we have an on-going sale.

We are in the process of re-making all of our caps in line with our the new branding. Over the past few weeks we have new sizing labels, product labels and now the new embroidered logo on some caps. Our goal is to have the new branding across all of our caps. It's a huge endeavor, made easier with our new Pfaff embroidery machine.

We are asking you to help us in our Spring Cleaning -  this is your chance to buy beautiful handmade caps or recycled wallets or pouches!

TGIF: Pfaff Time!

Photo Red Dots Cycling

We have been Pfaff Again!

Thanks to Sabine of Pfaff on Granville for a few goodies we picked up yesterday!

When we bought our dream machine, we had a bag of goodies as part of a special promotion. I'm excited to discover  a box of 12 huge spools of embroidery thread. Any sewer knows that one can never have enough of thread! 

The special bonus promotion I received with my Pfaff Creative 3.0!

Photo Red Dots Cycling

And not to mention the Pfaff exclusive scissor collection!

I'm in Pfaff heaven! I don't know all the specific tools, but I'll soon happily, figure it out. One thing is that I do admire the Pfaff craftsmanship! It's always fun to visit the Pfaff store. They have so many goodies and have extended their line of sewing machines. Sabine is most welcoming and she gives demos on all of the machines. And, she also encourages you to try the machine. The Pfaff display is worth a look showcasing most of their wonderful machines throughout their history. 

When I purchased my embroidery machine, I mentioned to Sabine that I wanted another machine just for rubber... and MAYBE they would have an older machine for me to use. Well, Sabine quickly said that they would find an old machine for me. I didn't want anything too new, I wanted an all-metal tank of a machine, to replace my old beloved Singer Fashionmate.

When I picked up my bag of goodies I was surprised in what was waiting for me! It's a Pfaff model 96! It is an older machine and I tried to find out the origin of the machine online. What a wonderful machine it is! Made in West Germany all mechanical and built like a Panzer. I have tested some rubber and it will be perfect!

Along with my serger and embroidery machine - I'm extremely happy to have another Pfaff in my family! 

Thanks to Sabine of Pfaff on Granville for her expert help and to make it easier for me to find my dream machine!

Part of the amazing machines on display!

Photo Red Dots Cycling

Sabine points out the details of my new Pfaff type 96!

Photo Red Dots Cycling

Carolle

Ride on! with the new Tempo Cycling Cap!

Ride on! with the new Tempo!

photo Red Dots Cycling

We are excited to introduce the new Tempo cycling cap!

Our second best selling cap... made even better.

It is a four-panel design cap made from strong and durable Linen/cotton. A fabric that has antiallergic properties, absorbs dampness and sweat very quickly. Can it get better? We think so.

We proudly include our new embroidered logo. And you are covered on your rides, so don't sweat it because you can sweat with the new added 100% cotton wicking head band.  

You will enjoy your rides... in Tempo!

I Sew Labels

Sewing Along!

photo Red Dots Cycling

Carolle is spending more time on the computer figuring out the design. And, that means I can participate in the sewing part of the cycling caps. After it's programed, I gently guide the fabric and presto - a label is sewn, automatically the thread is cut and it's finished. This Pfaff is a wonderful machine!

My new job -  sewing on labels!

The finished label!

photo Red Dots Cycling

Richard

TGIF: Welcome Our New Embroidered Logo! & Extending the 25-40% Sale!

Introducing our new Logo,

on the classic Cappello Nero.

photo: Red Dots Cycling

This is a cause for celebration!


Not only it's TGIF... we also designed and made our first Red Dots Cycling embroidered logo! This is a major change to our cycling cap. We added a size label, description label, a new wicking band and... the new embroidered logo!

It all took time, plenty of hard work (Carolle you are the best!) and we are happy that this is the final cap version. We are proud of our new logo and pretty soon you will see it in all of our cycling caps!

The new 'r & d with 3 red dots

photo Red Dots Cycling

It's fitting our new embroidered logo appears on our classic and popular - Cappello da Ciclismo Nero Cycling Cap!

This is the first logo made on our new embroidery machine rendered on a free online software. It's quirky and crashes but it is free. For now, we are making it work for us. Eventually, our next goal is to acquire the proper software for our machine.


Good News!

We decided to extend our popular 25-40% Off Sale because we want to make room for the new cycling caps with embroidered logo. Happy shopping on excellent deals!

Richard

New: Light Linen Cycling Cap for Seven Cycles

Light Linen Cycling Cap for Seven Cycles.

Courtesy: sevencycles

The Summer is coming and Carolle and I are excited to make the newest cycling cap for Seven Cycles called, Light Linen Cycling Cap.  

We describe the cap as understated cool-made of linen/cotton; lightweight, breathable, anti-bacterial, wicks moisture rapidly, will keep you cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold. It's available in two sizes: Small/Medium and Medium/Large.

It's always fun to design new cycling caps for Seven Cycles. We made the caps and Seven Cycles took care of the embroidery.

We are proud to work closely with Seven Cycles to help make this attractive and practical cycling cap for all of your rides!

Here's what their custom cap looked like before

Seven Cycles' embroidered logo!

Photo: Red Dots Cycling

Richard

Planning a Rubber Week

This is what 100's of clean and cut recycled bike inner tubes

look like...

 ready for sewing!

photo: Red Dots Cycling

Friday was spent, and I mean I was spent afterwards-cutting and cleaning 100's of recycled, bike inner tubes.

We're getting set for another run for La Piccola Wallets! Part of these tubes will go to fulfill the Special Edition Wallet Perks from our recent crowdfunding project. It's a messy affair with these tubes. They are now in prep stage waiting for the sewing stage. Next, we will pick out fabric designs, that's the fun part.

Our rubber week production is planned for early June, looking forward to it!

Richard

TGIF: First cap made from our new Pfaff, new Logo & How to wear a cycling cap by Gianni Bugno,

Cappello Nero Rosso

photo: Red Dots Cycling

TGIF time!


We just made our very first small run of Cappello Nero Rosso caps on our new Pfaff machine!

We love it! The machine is fast and works so efficiently that we believe we will save in production time. The New Nero Rosso's are now in stock.


Carolle is busy working on a Red Dots Cycling logo design destined to be embroidered. I can't reveal it until it's finalize. So, we are at the fine tuning stage and it's progressing well.


We think highly of Gianni Bugno, former world champion (twice in 1991 & 1992), stage winner in all Grand Tours and classic winner. He is a cool guy and remains in cycling as a RAI TV helicopter pilot and president of CPA (Association of Professional Cyclists). We love this video of the former world champ revealing 'how to wear a cycling cap.'

I think he would look even better with one of our caps!

My First Thoughts on my New Pfaff Creative 3.0

Simple embroidery,

this took a matter of minutes to complete.

photo: Red Dots Cycling

We have our new machine!

The Pfaff Creative 3 is anything like my old Singer Fashionmate. A stark contrast of two technologies. The Singer was a mechanical workhorse, easy to understand and you can sit in front of it and just sew away. My new Pfaff is full of features that I'm happy to have. I don't recommend this machine for the first-time seamstress. It maybe overwhelming at first. Having basic sewing knowledge would make it easier to be able to get the most out of this machine. One thing that surprises me is that the Pfaff should never be oiled. For me, this is what I always do every month for maintenance. Now, all I have to do is dust it.

Two boxes equals Pfaff Fun!

One holds the machine and the other holds

the embroidery module.

photo: Red Dots Cycling

When I first opened the box I took it out and tried many different stitches that I normally use when making my caps. I couldn't help myself by trying more decorative stitches. This amazing machine comes with 250 stitch patterns. Mind blowing when my old Singer offered only two. The main reason why we chose this machine is it will replace my broken Singer as my new sewing machine and embroider as well.

Why do I know Pfaff? Well, I have a Pfaff serger I purchased from Sabine at Pfaff in Vancouver. That was back in 2006. I've used my serger as much as I sew. It is an essential part of my sewing room and works effortlessly without any problems. Based on my experience with Pfaff, it just made sense to step up to the new machine. I want to thank the ever helpful, Sabine of Pfaff in Vancouver!

It comes loaded with embroidery designs, but I don't think flowers and animals would make a good cycling cap design. What I'm interested to do is to design custom logos and import the designs into the machine.

This machine is very efficient producing the Celtic design I downloaded free online. It took minutes to produce as all I had to do is sit back and be amazed. New technology is simply wonderful. I envision our cycling caps to look even better with your teams' logo or a teams' name.

As you know, we did not reach our goal in the embroidery crowdfunding project. This means, at this time, I am unable to design logos. But, I'm exploring other options in order to digitize my logos. One thing at a time and one step closer to offering embroidered team cycling caps - Richard and I are excited!

Carolle

Humming along!

photo: Red Dots Cycling

TGIF: Think Pink! Our New Viva La Corsa Rosa, Pfaff Time & Victoria Day Sale!

Our new...

Viva La Corsa Rosa!

photo: Red Dots Cycling

Our busy week is ending and there's plenty to rave about!

We love Giro d'ltalia pink, and we are pleased to announce our newest cycling cap... Viva La Corsa Rosa!

Made from comfortable wearing and naturally wicking linen/cotton. Our attention to detail is so Giro - we've added a hot pink under brim with hot pink stripe with a side detail of the Italian tricolore all the way to the brim. Also included, because sweating is part of the fun, is our new thick 100% cotton wicking band. It's made to absorb your sweat. So go ahead and sweat it out! Now available in Small/Medium (21"-22.5") and Medium/Large (22.5"-24").

We're approaching the dramatic mountain stages and we hope you are enjoying the Giro -  Viva La Corsa Rosa!

Full on pink love!

photo: Red Dots Cycling

photo: Red Dots Cycling

Today, we 'test drove' what will become our new sewing/embroidery machine... the new Pfaff Creative 3.0 -  it just arrived in store today!

Compared to our former Singer Fashionmate 257, it's really a world apart. Not only the Pfaff sews, it embroiders to perfection. Sabine, from the Pfaff store in Vancouver, showed me how the Pfaff embroiders my name! The results are truly spectacular the quality is perfect - it's exactly what I'm looking for in a machine!

I'm so excited, I'm preparing my sewing corner!

This is a long weekend for us here in Canada. It's Victoria Day on Monday any holiday is a good reason to celebrate! 

We are having a Victoria Day Weekend Sale! That means; 25-40% off on most items in our shop, for a limited time!

Enjoy the Giro and take advantage of our Sale!

Carolle

TGIF: Thinking Pink!, Singer RIP & Last Words on our Crowdfunding Campaign

Our new cap honoring the Giro d'ltalia!

photo: Red dots Cycling.

We love the Giro!

And, we decided to produce a new cycling cap. This is the prototype, it's black linen/cotton (similar to our Cappello Nero) comfy to wear on or off the bike. It's that good looking. To celebrate our favorite Spring Grand Tour - we sewn in a pink ribbon with the Italian tricolore. We love detail and it's in the ribbons. We could not find the ribbon and we decided to make it ourselves. That means we sew in each ribbon individually. One detail that may or may not make the final design is the Italian tricolore overstitch on top of the brim. Production will begin this week ...Bellissimo!


Bad news on Carolle's Singer Fashionmate.

We finally receive the news that it's beyond repair. It was an emotional letting go.


After receiving so many comments to have embroidery on our cycling caps, we tried crowdfunding and  it was a learning experience. We are now trying to look at ways as how to afford a sewing/embroidery machine to fulfill the perks. Thank you to all who contributed!

Our Own Alpe d'Huez

As we approach the end of our indiegogo crowdfunding campaign... we can imagine it as a ride up Alpe d'Huez, with many twists and turns.

Any rider that journeys up this special mountain has to train in a special way. Like these riders, we had to go outside of our comfort zone and put ourselves out there. Making a video was a challenge for us because we are far from videographers. The gun sounded and we decided to launch ourselves up our own Alpe d'Huez.

We knew that it wasn't going to be easy and we had to rely on word of mouth and social media to get our message across. We felt confident, with the help from our friends and contacts, that we could reach our campaign goal. After all, people have long been asking us for embroidered cycling caps. When we hit our first switchback, there was a huge challenge ahead. We soon realize that it wasn't that easy. Many people are not comfortable with the idea of crowdfunding. They don't feel secure about online transactions - it's not everyone that embraces it.

And, we found ourselves on the side of the road waiting for the 'team car'...that's where our friend Jen came to our rescue. We are so grateful to Jen for her generosity for lending her sewing machine, especially helping us complete our huge custom cap order, whilst waiting for word on whether our Singer can be repaired. Sadly, at this point, we haven't heard of any positive feedback of our Singer machine.

On the other hand, we received donations from people that have never bought from us. Our publicity raised through Facebook and Twitter is tremendous. People have left positive messages of good luck. Currently, there are 53 hours remaining, there's little chance of not reaching the podium. We are still excited to be part of this race. The experience in itself, regardless of reaching the goal, is rewarding.


Thank you to all of our contributors and ...there's still time to donate!


Please donate to our Embroidery Campaign.

TGIF: Indiegogo Crowdfunding, A New Cap & Clowning Around with Cucci Cabana

Emilie Leclerc and Joey Lesperance.

Costumes by Carolle

Photo: James Loewen

TGIF time...

The Giro d'ltalia launches the summer cycling season and we have a new cycling cap on the drawing board.

Carolle's clowning around...

She actually used a cycling cap where no cycling cap has gone before! Her cycling cap is from our basic design made with a special twist for the play, Cucci & Cabana. It's wonderful (look at the yellow cap). She also helped in the design and construction of the costumes. It was fun to see Carolle in another creative light with Joey making costumes. She sure is talented.

Our sewing machine is still in the repair shop and we are still working with a borrowed machine. We need a new sewing machine. There are five days remaining in our Embroidery Project so please take time now to contribute to our campaign and share the word around!

Venga! Venga! New Cycling Cap - New Feature

Venga! Venga!

All photos: Red Dots Cycling

Here's some images with the new Venga! Venga! cycling cap on my morning ride.

A good morning ride to test our new 100% cotton hat trim that acts as a wicking head band. It works, very well soaking up sweat. Our cycling caps keep revolving with this new feature. We pre-washed the trim to make sure it was color fast (no dye residue) and to check shrinkage. A good thing we did this test - it did shrink. So, now our customers can enjoy the new hat trim with no dye transfer and go ahead and sweat into it -  it won't shrink on you!

The new 100% cotton hat trim.

All photos: Red Dots Cycling

The Venga! Venga! is comfy, stretches perfectly due to the wool/polyester blend fabric. This morning a cool wind confronted me and I was glad that the Venga! Venga! is partly wool, to keep my head warm. I love the design, brown/black/beige plaid, a nice 1 inch chocolate brown stripe with a hint of that Basque orange.

Introducing the New, Venga! Venga! Cycling Cap

Our new Venga! Venga! cycling cap

Photo: Red Dots Cycling

The production of our newest 3-season cycling cap is finished, the Venga! Venga! cycling cap is now available on our website!


We love the enthusiastic Basque cycling fans screaming, 'Venga! Venga! (Come on, Come on!) to their cycling heroes. We love their enthusiasm for cycling.

VENGA! VENGA!... Forever!

Cycling writer, Rein van de Wouw said it so well of the Basque cycling fans, "And so these boisterous, passionate, intense individuals come to the bike races, to their natural home of the mountains which are the proving ground of the hard climbers. They don't have a word for God: he is simply "the Lord of the high place". Like brigands, they colonize the roads, crowd the approaches, commandeer the heights - and they party, booze, sing and laugh, sometimes sitting in lines on the tarmac to perform their strange rowing ritual. And when the riders appear, they jostle and wave their big flags and roar them through."


This beautiful lite wool polyester plaid cycling cap is good looking to wear on and off the bike. With a touch of Orange we're closer to the Basque cycling fans!

TGIF: Scream of the Wolfman

Scream!

via horropedia

The image of the wolfman screaming sums up our crazy week. I don't know if it was a full moon, the stars not aligning right or just stress screaming out. When things don't turn out there seems to be an unmistakeable way for it to amplify.

I'm sure glad it's TGIF.

Things should return back to normal!

La Francaise & OrangeMan Back in Stock!

Vive La Francaise!

Photo: Red Dots Cycling

We are happy to re-stock two of our popular cycling caps; La Francaise and OrangeMan!

There is a change to La Francaise -  no longer will we include the red dots because we were not 100% satisfied how the way it looked. Our idea was to showcase our red dots as a great way to brand our caps - so we'll keep it on the back burner for now.

We decided no more heat pressed red dots... for now.

Photo: Red Dots Cycling

3 Cheers for the OrangeMan!

Photo: Red Dots Cycling

Cool Blue for Ride Studio Cafe

Looking cool blue

via facebook.com/ridestudiocafe

Here's our latest custom cycling caps made exclusively for Ride Studio Cafe of Lexington, MA.

We have made the black cap in the past, and they liked it so much they ordered more. It's a classic. Ride Studio Cafe has been one of our long term clients now and their logo is a beautiful teal blue. It's hard to match this color, and it's a challenge to find it.

Last year, we first discovered this fabric by chance, whilst shopping for winter fabric. The teal blue is so beautiful we decided to buy it. We bought the remaining amount of fabric from the store in the hope of using it for a cycling cap. It's made of linen/cotton. So, when RSC contacted us for a blue cycling cap, well we had it and pitched it to them and they ordered it.

You know when things are aligned so right... it works. The new cycling cap looks so fine!

Our custom cycling caps for Ride Studio Cafe.

TGIF: Venga! Venga! Cycling Cap, Tempo/Paris-Roubaix are back & Singer Fashionmate Update.

Richard with the new Venga! Venga! wool polyester

cycling cap!

photo: ReddotsCycling

Due to increasing demand for a lite wool blend three season cycling cap, here it is...

This is our new cycling cap called, Venga! Venga! It's a wool polyester brown/black plaid, comfortable enough to wear during Autumn, Spring and perhaps during summer. Wool has natural properties keeps you warm in cool temperatures and breathes well when it's warm.

What does Venga! Venga! mean? Crazed Basque cycling fans yell, 'Come on, Come on!' when they see their favorite cyclists ride by. Think of the Tour of the Basque Country or any race wherever the Basque based Euskatel team is riding. Along with a chocolate brown stripe we add a hint of Basque Orange to show our allegiance. This is a sneak peak look and we plan to go into production next week.


Also, we are working on re-stocking our favorite 3-season cycling caps. We now have ample stock on two favorites; Tempo and Paris-Roubaix!


My beloved Singer Fashionmate 257 is currently in the Singer ER. At this point, there's little chance for survival as I keep my fingers crossed for good news. I need to look at options for another sewing machine. It's emotional, I've had it since 1972 without a glitch. I'll found out next week as to the prognosis.


Our indiegogo campaign is about to hit $1000! Imagine what we can do with a new embroidery sewing machine on our new Venga! Venga! cycling cap!

TGIF: New Elastic, Le Grimpeur, Coupon Code & Aussie Aussie Aussie!

It has been a busy week so ...TGIF!


Whenever we can include recycled materials in our products is a plus for sustainability. It is a pleasant surprised to find this elastic from our supplier. A material that is hidden in our caps but deserves to be revealed. It makes us feel good to use this product; 72% Polyester, 28% rubber... 70% total recycled fiber. Made by Singer and not made in China but in India! Now that it's tested it is used in all of our new cycling caps!


Carolle and I would like to Thank Guy of Le Grimpeur for his excellent post of our cycling caps and indiegogo cycling cap campaign. Read it here. We love it when people talk about us!


Speaking about our indiegogo campaign, we just received our first contribution from Australia. Always exciting that our campaign is viewed around the world!

We just wanted to say a quick thank you to all our fans for your support! Here's a 10% discount code to use on our site across our full range. Starts today until April 22nd!         

Coupon Code: 10THNX

Cancellara about to ruin Vammarcke's Sunday.

Kudos to Carolle, she woke up with me at 4 AM to watch the exciting action of Paris-Roubaix. Now, I don't think I can convince her to wake up at 5 AM this Sunday to watch the Amstel Gold Race!