Gift Idea: Leather Chaps with Kerchal Leatherworks
Tyler Kerchal, founder of Kerchal Leatherworks, made and designed a Leather Chaps. Follow his step-by-step tutorial and download the FREE pattern to get started!
Trace entire chap body pattern onto back side of leather, flip pattern over and repeat for opposite leg.
Cut fringe/decorative piece out from paper pattern and trace onto back side of metallic leather, marking all cut outs as well.
Trace yoke and panel pieces onto veg-tan, and cut all pieces out.
Stamp/tool, dye and finish yokes and leg panels to your liking and set aside.
Preferably using double sided tape to avoid glue residue, roll upper thigh and inner leg reinforcement, sew in place.
Lay fringe and thigh piece onto the chap body and stitch in place. Tip: Do not cut fringe, until after ALL sewing is done, this will be the very last step.
Cut leg straps ¾” x desired length. I use 7/8 oz latigo leather here.
Rivet in place and sew on leg panels. Tip: Remember to keep leg straps flipped out of the way during this process.
Attach ¾” roller buckles to thigh piece using ¾”x3” chap leather. Rivet in place.
Cut front belt ¾” x desired length, but generally about 6-8”, again I use a 7/8 oz latigo leather for this as well.
Glue or tape yokes in place, with front belt straps placed in between the chap body and the yokes. Stitch in place, sewing across the belt straps, securing with a rivet if desired.
At this point, you may cut the fringe. I cut the fringe at approximately ¼” wide, and roughly a 30 degree angle going down the leg. Bottom fringe will be cut straight, or a 90 degree angle.
According to you, or your customers waist measurement, cut back belt approximately 2” wide x desired length.
Stamp/tool and finish to your liking.
Once finished, punch matching holes in top yokes and ends of back belt. Lace in place.
At this point you should now have a completed pair of chaps!
Kerchal Leatherworks
My name is Tyler Kerchal, from Curtis Nebraska and I own and operate Kerchal Leatherworks. Growing up, life revolved around ranching and rodeoing, so quality gear was always a must. Looking up to two of my uncles who have always done leatherwork as well, I started dabbling in the trade myself. A few years after high school I found myself making and selling small projects to friends and family as a hobby, using my kitchen table as a bench with a small handful of tools. Years passed, word spread, and I kept striving to be better. At 32, I took a scary leap, quit my job, opened my shop full time, and haven’t looked back since. I enjoy making a wide variety of custom orders for people all across the country, with chaps being one of my personal favorites.
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