How Much Leather Will I Need To Make Chaps

[BarrelPony]

Hey there everyone, thanks so much for all the great help! I found a pretty good deal I think from The Leather Guy, it's 22 sq. ft. (62"x37") of 5 1/2 ounce oil tanned. Here is the link to the listing:

The Leather Guy

Would that be enough to make a pair with fringe? Thanks!

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

If you are very careful on placing your patterns you should be able to get it done. You may need to add the fringe as opposed to cutting as part of the chap leather. Here are 3 pics of chaps made of different types of leather.  The pink were made of glove leather the other ones were made of deer tanned cowhide.  In all three cases I made them out of about 27 sq ft with plenty left over.

Bob

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I would not chance the one 22 sq ft side for a pair of chaps.  I'd ask for two matching sides to have your bases covered. If you run short only having ordered one side, and have to order another, what happens if there isn't one to match it then? It's much easier to have them match them up at the same time in the store than to get one now and one later and hope they match. Total square footage doesn't always tell the whole story. If the side is odd shaped or has some blemishes right in the middle of where you need to cut, you're out of luck.   You might be money ahead to order a big hide and then your chances are a lot better. While I like the leather I've gotten from TLG and I like dealing with them, the sides to tend to run small and the yield isn't super. You're paying over $4.50 a ft for that hide, Hide House isn't any higher and they'll have bigger sides. Just make sure to specify when you order. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[Dwight]

Hey, BondoBob, . . . thanks pal for the picture of the little lady in the pink.

Haven't been feeling all the way up to par, . . . needed something to bust the monotony, . . . erase the fog, . . . y'know.

THAT picture did it.  Seeing the smile on her face, . . . ribbon in her hand, . . . and that beautiful piece of horseflesh she is riding, . . .  just made my day.

Again, thanks for posting, . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 7:49 PM, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

I agree with Dirt. With your measurements, you should be able to get them out of one side if it's relatively clean and decent size. Most chap sides are between 25-29 sq feet. And check, double check to flip your pattern so that you are not, as Dirt says, cutting two of the same leg. Yep, done that!

That was good for a morning laugh, done that too!

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

52 minutes ago, Dwight said:

Hey, BondoBob, . . . thanks pal for the picture of the little lady in the pink.

Haven't been feeling all the way up to par, . . . needed something to bust the monotony, . . . erase the fog, . . . y'know.

THAT picture did it.  Seeing the smile on her face, . . . ribbon in her hand, . . . and that beautiful piece of horseflesh she is riding, . . .  just made my day.

Again, thanks for posting, . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

Dwight, just in case you needed a little pick me up today, here is another pic of the pink girls' sister in her blue glove leather chaps.  Both girls have now grown out of those, but; are still showing on the Arab circuit here in MI. They are both the sweetest things, must have been the chaps!

Barrel Pony, I like to use either, buffalo hide or deer tanned cowhide, for show chaps, they make nice soft, feeling chaps.  You can often fine a nice selection of the deer tanned cow hide at Tandy's. Not priced too steep either.  If you have your pattern with you, you can take it in to the store and actually see it there is enough on the side you select to do the job, before you buy it.  There is an advantage to being able to personally select your hides where ever you go.

Bob

[Dwight]

That's a good one too.............

Thanks, may God bless,

Dwight

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

The Arab pictures take me back about 30 years. There was a time when I thought they were the most awesome horses in the world.  Even though I have moved on, there is still something pretty about a nice Arabian and a well-thought-out turnout.

 

[BarrelPony]

Hi everyone, and thanks for your input and photos. If I did go with the 22 sq. ft. and it wasn't enough, I could always do a seam in the leg right?

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I haven't ever added a seam to complete a pair of chaps, although I've seen them that way, and it always makes me think "lesser quality".   If you choose that route, be very careful where you put the seam, making sure it isn't in a spot that is subject to excessive wear and abrasion or will be uncomfortable to the wearer, such as on the inside of the leg where it would touch the saddle.  Chaps are an item that tend to come un-sewed anyway, due to frequent flexing of material and oftentimes, too light of a thread being used.  Personally, I would avoid a splice at all costs. I price my chaps high enough to cover all my bases. Trying to build a pair on $100 budget is just cutting it pretty close, IMO. Used to be it was sure feasible, but leather has increased in cost so much, and we have to adjust our expectations accordingly. Many of my chap sides will run over $100 before freight. For an extra tall or big person, I plan on two sides and charge for that extra leather.  Years ago, when chap sides started to hover around the $100 mark, a fellow leatherworker said "Boy that's hard to make a pair of chaps work, isn't it?".  I just shake my head at that way of thinking. Everything else goes up. A new pickup can cost well over $50,000, 20 years ago they were half that.  In the horse industry in particular, for some strange reason, folks tend to think a saddle should cost nearly the same as it did 20 years ago.  I believe that is one major reason we're seeing the decline in quality of the production saddles.  To remain competitive and profitable, these companies keep cutting costs in material and methods, resulting in an inferior product.  Or possibly the reverse is true, people expect to be able to pay the same because the production stuff hasn't gone up at the same rate as everything else, but the reasons are the same.  However, I digress.  If a splice doesn't bother you, then a 22 ft side may very well work.