I have two kids. One just started going to ski lessions and having paid 30 bucks for her mittens, I do NOT want her to loose them. So, what to do? The quick and easy fix was a length of yarn connecting the mittens through the sleeves. This works fine for the little little tikes but for my three-year-old? no. There has to be a better solution. I don't want her getting strung up (literally) because her mittens are attached to her. Like her ski bindings, can't we have some sort of quick-release in case of danger?

So i googled it. Mitten clips is what I found and they seemed like a good idea. Why not make a pair out of recycled material? A pair of suspenders would be perfect! NOPE! BETTER than perfect: I would still have elastic leftover for a pair of sweats or something.....

So, here is what is needed:
1 pair of suspenders; make sure ALL 4 clips are working
seam ripper
scissors
thread
sewing machine (or can be done by hand but stitches will have to be short)

Step 1: Take Apart Suspenders

You have a choice here:
1. you conserve the long piece of elastic for future use: Penance: 5 more minutes of sewing with a machine; 20m by hand

rip the seams from 3 of the 4 suspender clips. The one clip you leave will be a non-adjustable clip; you will have 1 length of elastic, 3 clips, and one length of elastic with one clip still attached. Depending on how the suspenders were made, you may have 2 clamps and 1 suspender-guide leftover...

2. you don't care about how much elastic you have left over; you want this done already!

find the two non-adjustable suspender clips (fixed ends) and cut 14cm from each fold. (see next step)

Step 2: Cut Elastic

from the previous step:

1. You conserved elastic:

you take your first mitten saver (clip still attached) and you cut the elastic so it is around 14cm long.
From the same piece of elastic, you will cut a ~16cm piece of elastic. Hem one end, thread the clip through and sew close to the clip. Do the same with the other end.

2. You didn't conserve elastic:

you have already cut each fixed suspender clip so that it has a 14cm piece of elastic attached.
for each piece, thread a clip through the elastic. Fold the elastic over twice, making a good hem. Stitch the width of each elastic so that the clip is permanently in place.