DIY: Customized Half Chaps

 

Well, more or less customized. I know I've been promising this for a while, but I'm lazy, so bear with me. This DIY is a way to spruce up your half chaps (or tall boots) with a little bit of individual flair. Since I couldn't quite find something to replace my Horze chaps, I decided to do something on my own.

Materials:
- a pair of half chaps
- monogram
- flat back beads
- rubber cement (or any leather adhesive)

For this DIY, I used the Harry's Horse Velvet chaps, a 1/2" Relatively Stable monogram, and The Crafts Outlet 10mm rhinestones. The size for the monogram and rhinestones was based off of the width of the swagger tab on the chaps since that's where I planned to do my design.

1. Make sure your chaps are broken in and cleaned thoroughly. I say this because the leather stretching excessively from the break in process might compromise the adhesive. Better safe than sorry. 

2. Apply your monogram according to the directions given. My monogram was a heat transfer and took a couple of 10 second presses with the iron to transfer completely.

3. Lay out your beads in the design that you want to apply them. There are many ways you can do this, and I suggest using custom boots as a reference. As a hunter rider, I didn't want my coach and friends to loose their minds from something too shiny, so I kept my design simple.

4. Apply the beads using the rubber cement. Don't worry about getting it on your hands. It comes off super easy.

5. Let 'em dry and voila! Custom chaps! You won't find a pair of these babies in any store.

I'm temped to do another pair since these are fairly simple to do, just takes time if you have a lot of beads. I don't really have a use for another pair of half chaps, but, ya know, art.