Elastic Cuff Links

By Mark Schroeder

For most of the season, I dress in layers of clothing to meet the weather conditions. Before the weather turns really cold, the last layer I put on is my flannel or chamois shirt. It's quiet. It's soft and comfortable, even with multiple layers underneath it. Since it is a shirt, the buttons and button holes are smaller than what is normally applied to an overcoat. I assume the overcoat buttons are large to allow buttoning and unbuttoning while wearing one's gloves. The small buttons in the front are usually not a problem, but I always have trouble buttoning the cuffs. The location of the cuff button requires the use of one hand, which is often impossible while wearing gloves.

My solution is to use bands to make the cuffs on the flannel shirt expandable. I use an old bicycle inner tube to make what one of my buddies calls "Ranger Bands." These are simply made by slicing across the inner tube with a sharp knife or a pair of scissors in the same direction one would cut a slice off of log of summer sausage. The resulting band looks like a typical rubber band, but I have found that these last much longer and resist the elements better than the ones from the daily newspaper.

Step 1: Pull the band through the button hole and loop it through itself.

Step 2: Hook the band over the button. Gather the excess band on the opposite side of the button. There is no need to stretch the band at this point.

Step 3: Twist the excess band 180°, or half a twist, to form another loop.

Step 4: Fold the newly formed loop back around the button.

Step 5: Pull the whole connection tight, allowing the last loop to slide under the button to secure it.

Set up your elastic cuff links ahead of time so your shirt is ready when you need it. This configuration has eliminated the need to fuss with buttons after putting the shirt on, allowing me to focus on the task at hand--enjoying the hunt.