If you scratch my back, I'll.....punch you in the face.

To the casual observer, we don't have distinct seasons here in Central Florida. But, being a surfer, I can always tell the when the leaves are turning by the murmurs of my fellow surfers:

"They're already in a SPRING SUIT?"
"Aren't you HOT in that vest?"
"Did you SEE that guy wearing a FULL SUIT? I wonder what his problem is....."

The beauty of the season.

Well, with those utterances, I went to purchase a new fullsuit for the season coming up (fortunately, with discount in hand this time of year). And once again, something that bothered me in the past keeps raising its ugly head. This:

The Death Tab of Velcro

I hate the Death Tab of Velcro. Every time I go to put a suit on that has a back zipper (no, I will NEVER do the chest zip again) the hooked side of the Velcro tab gets lost down in the suit somewhere, ripping the inside to shreds, and making me fumble for five minutes trying to recover it. Then I get nice pilling inside the suit over the season that make me itch. Lovely:

Yuck. And this is just from try ons.

Ok, so I came up with a little hack to help avoid this problem that most suits seem to ignore.
A lot of suits have this grab tab at the neck:

I'm going to attach some loopy side Velcro (NOT the hooked side) to this tab, so I can fold it back onto itself while I put it on so it stays out of the way until I'm ready for it.
Here's my supplies:

I'm using bright green 3/4" Velcro so it will show up in the pics- you can use scrap Velcro, whatever. You'll only need a piece of the LOOPY, SOFT side, not the scratchy hooked side. I also got good scissors, clear 4 LB test fishing line, and a heavy duty SHARP needle. You may want to also use a rubber jar opener to help pull the needle through, since you will be sewing through the tab and the piece of Velcro, which is a lot like sewing through leather, so the grip helps.
Cut a piece of the loopy side of the Velcro, no more than 1"- you don't want the piece flapping around against your neck.

This is important- you will be sewing the piece to the flap with the loops facing OUTWARD, so the wrong side will be against the outside of the wetsuit tab. You will be whipstitching just one edge together. Make a good starting knot:

Do a tight whipstitch up the edge of the tab:

Finish with a strong knot and trim the ends.

Now, this piece can fold to the inside to act as a block, to prevent the hooked Velcro from snagging on the neoprene while you put it on each time:

Now, get out there and work it, bitches!