For many of us, clothespins bring our minds back to a simpler time. Maybe you remember your parents hanging the clothing out to dry in the backyard on a warm summer day — or perhaps you remember doing it yourself last week! Either way, clothespins offer so much more than a practical way to dry clothes in the great outdoors. From mini clothespins and clothespin dolls to oversized wood craft clothespins, they are versatile, fun, and — let’s be honest — pretty adorable. Fortunately, Woodpeckers has all of the best-quality clothespins to meet your crafting needs.
In today’s guide, we’re going to cover everything you ever wanted to know (and some) about clothespin crafts, including festive ideas, elegant decorations, and even a few practical uses that you may not have been aware of. So, grab your glue gun and some paint, and let’s get started!
Clothespin craft ideas for the holidays
Since clothespins come in varied sizes and can actually open and close, there are tons of ways to incorporate them into your crafts. For this reason, we’re going to break things down into a few different categories and make it easier for you to find the perfect craft idea for your next project. In the sections below, you’ll see some of our favorite clothespin craft ideas for the winter holiday season.
Clothespin reindeer ornaments
If you google “wooden clothespin crafts,” one of the first things to come up will be pictures of cute clothespin reindeer. Why? Because they’re perfect DIY holiday decorations that work for crafters of all ages. With just a few simple materials — namely wooden clothespins, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and maybe a small red pom-pom for the nose — you can transform your ordinary clothespins into fun reindeer ornaments for the Christmas tree, garlands, or any other holiday-themed display in your home. Plus, they’re easy enough to make that you can create plenty of reindeer with clothespins and gift them to your friends and family!
Clothespin Christmas trees
It’s surprisingly easy to create charming clothespin Christmas tree ornaments by painting mini clothespins with green paint. Then, you glue two or three clothespins together so that they form a triangular shape. From there, you can add tiny beads or glitter to mimic ultra-small ornaments. You can even use larger clothespins for standalone Christmas tree decorations that can be displayed on coffee tables or even used as centerpieces at your dining table.
Clothespin angels
Hark! The herald clothespin angels sing! Clothespin angles are another simple yet beautiful way to decorate your home or tree for the holidays. Using our pre-sanded wooden clothespin dolls, simply paint them white, and add fabric or lace for wings. You and your kids can draw simple faces and attach a small halo using pipe cleaners or gold-painted wire. That’s really all there is to it!
Clothespin Christmas wreath
Clothespins offer a really great way to make wreaths for just about any season (more on that later), but they make it even easier to create a Christmas wreath from scratch. Paint your wooden clothespins in red, green, and white, then clip them onto a wire frame in alternating colors. If you want your wreath to look more “traditional,” you can paint them all green and then use festive bows and bells as the finishing touches.
Clothespin snowman ornaments
One fun part of decorating for Christmas and the holiday season in general is that you can create miniature winter wonderlands, full of little people and characters. For clothespin snowman ornaments, you just need to paint mini clothespins white, draw a face near the top end with markers, and add small fabric scarves. You can also add a black top hat using fabric or construction paper. These are simple, quick crafts that look great on a tree, on a miniature village display, or even as gift toppers. Our wood doll clothespins are perfect for snowmen, as well as any other human (or even insect!) characters you want to create.
Clothespin Nativity ornaments
Many families create Nativity scenes to display under their trees, on their mantles, or anywhere prominent in their homes. Clothespin Nativity ornaments make it easy to recreate the Nativity scene. You can paint simple faces and wrap them in small fabric scraps for clothing. Even if you don’t plan on creating a standup Nativity scene, you can still use these creations as heartfelt Christmas tree ornaments.
Even more clothespin craft ideas for kids and adults
Though it may seem like clothespin crafts are just for the holidays, this couldn’t be further from the truth! There are plenty of great ways to decorate or make gifts using clothespins during any season. Additionally, we’ve included some easy ideas that you can try out along with your kids, as well as more advanced ideas for experienced crafters.
Butterfly clothespin craft
This is a very popular clothespin craft for kids, and perhaps one of the most popular for teachers in the classroom. One of the best parts is that the children can pick the size clothespin that they like. From small to medium to large, all sizes work to create beautiful butterfly clothespin crafts. You and the kids just need a bit of paint (ideally bright, natural colors), construction paper or coffee filters to create the wings, googly eyes for the face, pipe cleaners for the antennae, and glue to put it all together.
Seasonal clothespin wreath
We’ve already covered Christmas wreaths with clothespins, but you can make beautiful clothespin wreaths for any season of the year. Just paint your wooden clothespins in the colors of the season, clip them onto a wire wreath frame, and embellish them with ribbons or other seasonal accents. These are great for spring, autumn, fall, or winter!
Clothespin dragonflies
This one is like a more advanced version of the butterfly clothespin. With clothespin dragonflies, you can decorate your clothespins with materials like beads, metallic paints, and ribbons. These can be displayed in a garden or as part of your interior home decor. Since the wings are often more complex in design than standard butterfly crafts, dragonflies are often a better fit for adults or experienced crafters.
Rustic clothespin decor
If you want to combine modern DIY creations with a type of rustic, “farmhouse” vibe, you have a few different options. We love creations that can be added to existing objects that you use or display daily. For example, you can make a rustic photo frame by staining your clothespins and attaching them to the edge of a plain wooden frame for a textured, country-style look. Alternatively, you can attach painted or natural clothespins around a circular mirror to create a sunburst effect.
Find your clothespin crafts at Woodpeckers
Now that you have some ideas for your next clothespin project, it’s time to stock up on high-quality clothespins that fit the size and style you need for your crafts. At Woodpeckers, we offer four different sizes and styles of clothespins to choose from:
Did you enjoy our clothespin craft guide? Be sure to check out our wooden clothespin craft shop to find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one!
