Making Polo Wraps

Polo wraps.  The biggest gimmick in horse tack!

Sorry, did you think you were going to learn about some swanky wraps they serve at polo matches?

At the beginning of the summer, r-ster had me start wrapping polo wraps around the lower part of Jackson's legs.  The green things on the bottom of his legs here.

Do you see a panda on his saddle?  My niece beanster thought that was sooooooo funny to give her panda a ride!  I don't think Jackson is huge but when I see how little beanster looks near him, I realize he is pretty big!

Originally, the wraps were to keep him from kicking himself  as we do a lot of lateral movements, but then it was also to sort of protect them when we jumped.

And over time, I've started to think of them as a little bit supportive, like an ace bandage would be for me, so I used them every time I ride.

I borrowed some from r-ster and I wash them when they get really nasty, but I've noticed one is starting to tear.  They are close to $20 for a set of 4 through most tack stores and that really bugs me because they are just 4 strips of fleece.  They don't have anything sewn except the velcro.

And people usually get carried away and buy lots of sets of them and they just lay around in the tack room getting dirty.

You can get them in any color imaginable and lots of prints too.  But, the fancier the name, the more you pay.

Highway robbery!

So, I decided to make some myself.

The first dilemma is that they are each 108 inches long.  Do you know how long that is?  3 yards!  Do you know how much that costs when buying fleece?  Well over $20.

Hmm, maybe that's why they are so pricey.

But, I knew if I could catch fleece on a good sale, I could probably do it for less than $20, so I've waited and waited.

And the other night, I hit the jackpot.  Fleece was on super sale at Joann, so I bought 3 yards and some velcro.

They are 5 inches wide which means I should be able to get 2 sets out of what I bought, but I didn't think about that, so I only bought enough velcro for one set.
 
The hardest part was cutting nice, straight lines because it's so thick when it's doubled.  It took a lot of moving around and rearranging but I finally got into a groove and cut them pretty well.

Then it's a simple triangle at the top with the first piece of velcro.

I sewed the velcro and the triangle all at one time and did two rows just to reinforce it.  The one I used for a model only had one row of stitches but I want these to last.

Then, flip it over and put the opposing velcro in the center a little ways down.

Be sure to drop it on the floor of your sewing room so you can pick up every stray piece of thread, material and batting, like I did.

And that's it!

Seriously.

Way overpriced for the amount of work it  is.

My total was about $15.  Still not super cheap but less than the $20 plus shipping I would have paid one of the big tack stores.  Plus, if I get around to buying the velcro for the other set, I will have 2 sets for $15 which is definitely a big bargain!

Now that I've seen the Black Friday flier from Joann, I might drag myself up there on Saturday because there's a 70% off fleece sale which would make these around $10 to make 2 sets.  I like that it's on Saturday and not Friday and I especially like the 70% off deal!

The fleece I bought was actually kind of thin and not really of the quality of the set I've been using.  I'm hoping the 70% off fleece on Saturday will be a thicker fleece that feels more high quality.

Then I'll be the girl with 50 sets of polo wraps getting dirty in the tackroom!

Linking up here:
http://www.myturnforus.com/2014/11/freedom-fridays-with-all-my-bloggy_20.html
http://www.glitterglueandpaint.com/project-pin-49/
http://www.flamingotoes.com/2014/11/think-pink-sunday-no-192/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
http//www.the-chicken-chick.com
http://www.skiptomylou.org
http://www.sewcando.com