Bike chain and dismantling thingy have arrived, so I've had an experimental fiddle about. The chain arrived with a very light coat of oil, which was easily removed with a bit of kitchen towel. No need for a massive degreasing process. I've separated a few links and managed to get a number of 'brackets' which appear to be the absolute perfect size. The pics show one of the resultant link bits attached to one of my homebrew pedals. The hook velcro, which is now redundant, will be removed and I'll probably stick on some of those little silicon 'dot' things one uses as cupboard door bumpers instead.
I'm thinking two brackets per pedal should be sufficient, at opposite corners.