This is a Holdup: Make Your Own Suspenders


Suspenders — which are apparently called braces by British/American people who try too hard — are slick little babies that make pretty much any outfit look just that much better. With jeans and a t-shirt? Obviously. Over a button down? Hello! Clipped onto a high-waisted skirt? Why not?




+ one d-ring or o-ring (available at a hardware store)

+ three suspender clips (available at a craft store in the sewing department)

+ two tiny safety pins

+ three yards of elastic

+ thread to match your elastic

+ a needle

+ scissors

+ pliers

Tips for nascent seamstresses:

Step One: Bend the suspender clips


Step Two: Make the back piece





Step Three: Sew the front clips

+ Sew a second suspender clip to a new piece of elastic.


+Sew the last suspender clip in place.

Step Four: Secure the back ring


Step Five: Adjustments



Laura has written 329 articles for us.


  1. Firstly: best headline ever

    Secondly: on behalf of all the british-english-speaking readers, I politely demand you include some pictures of girls in real suspenders (you call them garters?)

  2. I couldn’t agree with Sally more. I was overjoyed at the thought of girls in suspenders! We need this fixed up! Please, please, please give us some gender queer girls in suspenders!

  3. I must commend you on your illustrations because once in high school for a project I made a tutorial of how to make a skirt and drawing how to sew/make things is REALLY hard. And extra points for detail, ie: the silly bandz.

  4. All I can think of when I see a person in suspenders is my Pop rocking his with his pants still slightly sagging, revealing that his polo shirt is actually tucked into his underwear.

  5. I had braces when I was little. They were my favourite things to wear to pre-school.

    That and my polka dot dress.

    I really want to make these, but I can’t sew.
    Oh, who cares, I’mma make me some bad braces.

    And wear them with my short shorts. Because you know that would look hot.

  6. TOTALLY agree that the quickest way to get my attention is to put these on.

    Sadly, I went to the great expense of purchasing a pair, only to find that yes, my big norks make it look like I’m strapped into a childs car seat or something, ugh.

    So the moral of the story is I LIKE SMALL BOOBS!

    That is all x

  7. This is kool and all and I might even try to make some out of duct tape (I make wallets, purses, ties, belts and such) but I’d rather spend eight bucks on a pair for real ones then do all this.

  8. Those guys you say that “try to hard” just might be the ones that save you one day from getting your ass beat by a bunch of neo nazi boneheads. Skinheads have nothing to do with trying to be hard or racism. Derrogetory comments like that in your blog only make you look like the stupid one. Research before you blog next time

    • um, i have no idea what you’re talking about. i was talking about americans who think it’s cute to adopt british words like “jumpers” and “braces” even though they’re clearly american. also it’s a joke because i am often one of those people.

      • ah ok, there’s really no wrong way to call them though. i’m british in america so if i used that slang would i be trying to hard? see it doesn’t really make sense. thats all i was pointing out. some british americans would be offended if you pointed out to them that they couldn’t use there slang in america. anyways I thought you were bad mouthing the culture grouping all skins into one “tough racist” catagory because it’s so rampent these days. that is all.

      • Also another history check. jumpers were first invented in london by albert thurston in 1805. he made and sold them out of a workshop on 27 panton street, haymarket london. so the correct terms for them are actually british. those terms include, suspenders, braces, jumpers. so if you wanna get really technicle here you could say people who call them suspenders are “trying to hard” which is just silly. am i right?

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