Cowboys, vaqueros (Mexican cowboys) and even cowgirls are known to wear chaps to protect their legs from brush while riding horses. Chaps consist of two separate pants connected at the waist but only cover the legs. Since chaps are similar to pants in design, creating chaps is not as hard as you might think. You can alter a pair of pants such as blue jeans or leather pants to create chaps.

Lay your pants on a flat surface with the front side up.

Trace a "U" shape starting at the crotch of the pants using a black coloring pencil. If the pants have pockets, do not draw beyond the pocket section. Draw a curved line on one side of the crotch section to the waistband. Then draw another curved line from the crotch to the waistband.

Turn the pants over and draw a pattern for the rear section. Draw a curved line from the seam on the bottom butt area to around the pocket section. Continue to the waistband on both sides of the rear section. The rear part will be totally removed.

Cut the pattern that you just drew for the front and rear sections.

Turn the pants inside out. Sew by machine the outer edges that you just cut to create a seam.

Try the chaps on over your current pair of pants to see the fit.