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Interchangeable Suspenders (ruffled, plain, and bows)

September 6, 2011 - By Ashley Johnston 25 Comments

Okay, first of all……..I love all of the votes that came in for the ‘Next Project Idea’ poll. The project winner is definitely the Fabric Storage Cubes. And I will come up with something and will share how I made them here in a week or so.

However, so many of you wanted the other projects too. Like, you were willing to saw an arm off to see one of them made. Haha…..not really. But I will choose a few more to share and will throw those in, here and there. Many of them are ones I would like to make for gifts or for my home anyway. So, that’s perfect.

Stay tuned for those!

. . . . .

Who says suspenders are just for boys?

And who says you only need one pair?

How about some Interchangeable Suspenders………which can be switched out with each outfit.

Only one set of suspender hardware is needed. (Yay for saving a few dollars!)

Suspenders sure add a little color/flair to an outfit.

(Even if they aren’t needed to hold up those pants.)

They have 2 sets of snaps on the front, for growth. And some stretchy elastic in the back, to help keep them snug.

Make a set for a little girl…………or even for yourself.

But don’t forget that you can make a set of interchangeable suspenders for the little fellas too!

They are nice and easy to switch out, without buying a bunch of metal suspender pieces.

And really, you could fancy them up however you want to. No limits.

Would you like to make your own set??

First of all, you can find my original suspender tutorial here. Have you been reading long enough to remember when my little boy was this little? Wow. Such an itty bitty little guy.

These suspenders are the same basic idea as my old tutorial…..just with a little twist at the end.

And again, I didn’t buy actual suspender hardware. I bought 2 Fashion Fit Clips at Joann Fabric and then made them work. (Explained more in the old suspender post, here.)

. . .

Anyway, to get started, create your suspenders just like the suspender tutorial linked above but add a few extra inches, so that you can make these suspenders adjustable.

(My little girl wears about a 5T…….I cut my strips 2.5 x 25 inches. It ended up being a little longer than I needed but was nice to have a little extra just in case. Maybe that will help some of you.)

These finished suspenders strips are 1 inch wide, just like the original ones.

Zig-zag along one end of each of the two strips you are using for your suspenders. Then attach 2 snaps to each end, right above the zig-zag. Then attach 2 snaps to the end of each elastic strip, spaced the same as they are on the fabric part of the suspenders. (Remember, snaps are easy. Learn more here.)

Now, attach the metal clamps to the back waistband of your subjects pants and then determine a good place to create the ‘X’ in the back of the suspenders. Pin the two strips in place, where they cross. Now remove from the pants and sew the suspenders in place, to keep the ‘X’ at the right angle.

Now, thread the other end of each of the two suspender pieces through the metal parts that didn’t have the elastic……and fold under at the length that fits your subject. (Trying them on again is helpful at this point.) Then pin in place.

Now, flip them to the back side and cut off about 2 inches above the metal part.

Zig-zag this end now, and then add a snap to the end. (Remember, snaps are easy. Learn more here.)

Then, right where you had the end folded up about 2 inches, add the other end of the snap. Then place another one right below it, about an inch down, so that there is room for growth. Remember to face the snaps the correct way, so that they will fit into each other.

See? Once it’s folded up, it snaps in place. And then can snap into the one below it, when your little one grows taller.

Repeat the same thing to the other side of the suspenders. See below? There’s the front of one of the pieces and the back to the other piece. These ends will both be attached to the front of the pants.

That’s the basic idea to the interchangeable suspenders.

Now you can make more colors and styles. Make them girly, make the boyish……..have fun with it!

. . . . .

To make the ruffly pair…….create your suspenders with the snaps all attached. Then cut 2 long strips of fabric that are twice the length of each suspender and are 1 1/4 inch wide. Then serge (or zig-zag) each long end. (If you don’t want the raw edges, even if they are serged……create a tube that is 1 1/4 wide and then go onto the next step. Just know that gathering the tube will be a little more difficult.)

Then, sew a basting stitch right down the center of each long strip. Don’t back stitch at each end. (Need help gathering? Click here.)

Gather each strip in and pin them to the front side of the suspenders………starting above the snaps in the front and going all the way back until the strips criss-cross in the back.

Sew the ruffles in place, right along the same basting stitch. Pull out the basting stitch if you can, or pick it out. Or you can leave it there.

Done.

If you want to make little bows to go on the front…….create little tubes of fabric. (Learn to make a tube here.) Size doesn’t matter. Whatever size looks best to you.

Then fold each end of the strip towards each other and sew in place.

Now, grab a more narrow strip of fabric (I just folded extra of the tube I used for the bow and folded it in half lengthwise) and hand-stitched one end to the back of the bow.

Then, I pinched the center of the bow in the center, wrapped the strip around the center…….

Then folded the end under and stitched this end in place.

Done. There’s my two bows. You can now hand stitch the bows right to the suspenders or hot glue them. I stitched mine.

Now, stop here or make more.

And now you have a great little collection of interchangeable suspenders.

What a fun little accessory!

Author Bio

Article Info

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It

Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

Title:

Interchangeable Suspenders (ruffled, plain, and bows)

Authors:

Ashley Johnston

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asjustable suspenders, diy suspenders, girl suspenders, make your own suspenders, suspenders for girls

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Last Updated:

November 14, 2018