Sturdy Wooden Clothespins – Kevin’s Quality Clothespins
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I love the smell of laundry fresh off the line – but I don’t love cheap, flimsy wooden clothespins. They launch themselves off the line in pieces or drop wet items on the ground below the line.
Since our laundry line is on our elevated deck, when laundry drops, it really drops, falling over ten feet down. Back in 2014, I was hanging clothes and thinking, “It sure would be nice if someone started making heavy duty wooden clothespins again.”
Ask and ye shall receive, because the next time I checked my inbox, there was a message from Hilary of Kevin’s Quality Clothespins. They sent me a sample of their heavy duty, American made wooden clothespins for review.
7 Reasons Why Kevin’s Quality Clothespins May be the Best Wooden Clothespins You’ve Ever Used
- Kevin’s Quality Clothespins are hand-crafted from solid maple hardwood, specifically end pieces from a local mill that supplies wood for guitars. I like that they are able to re-purpose what would otherwise end up as scrap. The wood has a light colored grain and will not bleed tannin onto clothing.
- The clothespin springs are heavy duty stainless steel from an American manufacturer, so there’s no rust or corrosion. They are much larger and stronger than standard imported clothespin springs.
- Kevin’s Quality Clothespins are made in America with materials sourced from local suppliers.
- Each clothespin is treated with natural linseed oil before assembly to help them resist weathering. You won’t find any treatment on the nekked cheapo clothespins.
- These clothespins are big enough to go where other clothespins can’t. They are large enough to tackle heavy rugs and quilts on a standard clothesline. They can even open wide enough to accommodate a 1/2 inch dowel. No more items slipping off drying racks.
- No slip grooves at the end of the pins make it easier for the user to operate the clothespin.
- These pins are crazy strong! I tied up a 5 pound weight in an old sock and tacked in on the clothesline with one of Kevin’s Quality Clothespins. It hung there like a boss – no slipping or sliding. I didn’t even attempt hanging the weight with the imported pins out of fear for the windows located right near the clothesline.
Clothespins That Last
I had a bin in my junk drawer dedicated to holding parts of dead clothespins. Every so often the boys would go through and try to piece them back together.
The thing is, once the springs have been stretched, they never work quite as well. Usually they ended up right back in the junk bin after the next load of laundry. Since I switched to Kevin’s Quality Clothespins, that bin only gets working bag clips and clothespins, not broken ones.
As long as you take them off the line when you gather the laundry, these clothespins should be around to hand down to your children and grandchildren. These wooden clothespins are made like things used to be made – to last.
They are more expensive than imports, but less expensive than similar clothespins in a Mother Earth News article. (Those pins were also out of stock when I checked the website.)
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These clothespins are nice enough for gifts, especially if you paired them up with something like wool dryer balls or a handmade clothespin bag.
Buy Your Own Set of Heavy Duty Wooden Clothespins
You can buy your own set of Kevin’s Quality Clothespins here.
*Update May 2021: Sadly, Kevin passed away, but his wife has taken up making wooden clothespins.
I received no compensation for this review, only a set of clothespins. I liked them so much I bought more for myself and some for friends.
Update: This review was originally posted in October 2014. It’s now December 2023, and I’ve used these clothespins for over 9 years. They still work great, and not one has busted.
You may also find useful:
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- Portable Clothes Washer Review and Comparison – What Works
This article is by Laurie Neverman. Laurie grew up on a small dairy farm in northwest Wisconsin, and now lives on an 35 acre homestead in northeast Wisconsin.
She and her family combine the best of old and new for more sustainable living. They use solar water heating and line drying, root cellaring and freeze drying, annual gardens and permaculture. There’s always more to explore!
Last updated in 2023.
I used to be able to get the large, strong clothespins and they last a long time. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find them in a couple of years and the ones I had have almost all disappeared. I hang clothes out to dry to save money and to get that “country breeze” smell that everyone else pays extra for!
I hang out clothes as much as I can and run into the same problem with cheap clothespins. Excited to finally find some that will totally do their job!
Looks like what my Gram used to use back in the day……..
Wow, those sound amazing! I think I’m going to have to invest in some of those.
These look like good sturdy clothespins. I go through so many sets of the cheap imported kind hanging out my wash.
Here everything is always so humid and my clothespins just don’t hold up well.
I love hanging out my wash but hate spending so much on clothespins that don’t hold up.
These look amazing.
I hang out most of our laundry as weather permits with cheap clothespins. I should have just bought good ones as much as I have spent on cheap junk ones. :/
These look so perfect. I seldom hang clothes now because it annoys me when the clothes blow off the line.
I have a few of my husband’s grandmother’s clothes pins mixed in with new one I have bought over the years. The new ones have never been the same quality as the old ones. These look like they would last a long time, maybe a few generations.
I purchased a set of these FABULOUS clothespins a few months ago. And they are AWESOME. Everything stated is true, true, true. So glad to have a found a quality product not made in China.
I’ve used them to hold up wicks when pouring candles. Admittedly, this has not always had the best success. It works, though, for smaller candles. 🙂
Laundry tip: add some essential oil to laundry balls before drying to make the clothes smell nice! I especially like lemon!
These look amazing! Very impressive picture of them holding a 5 lb weight. Mine won’t hold air it seems. Frustrating that so many things aren’t made to last these days. Thank you for this post and this find. <3
My clothespins are constantly coming apart. I just gave a stack to hubby to put back together yesterday. Not only do I use them on laundry, I also use them in my craft room and I love to hold a tag or card to a gift with a little clothespin.
I use clothespins for everything from hanging laundry to chip clips! Would love some that would actually hold my throw rugs.
Chip clips always seem to break on me so I keep a few clothespins in my kitchen to close bags of items that would spill easily without a clip: chips, crackers, bread, cereal, lettuce, carrots, flour, dried fruit, etc.
I need to order some of these. I get so frustrated by the flimsy ones I have. It would be even better to win a set!
Most items nowadays just aren’t made to last! We inherited an old clothesline from our grandparents and plan on putting it to good use :). I researched clothespins not too long ago and was saddened at how cheaply most of them were made. Thanks to your review I know exactly where to get quality clothespins that will last for multiple generations!
Quality clothespins would be wonderful to win.
I would love to win these, have no clothespins now and would love to start hanging my laundry!
I hang out almost all our laundry and would love to have some clothspins that I don’t have to reassemble after each use. Thanks for the giveaway.
I have a few of my grandmother’s clothespins and would love to have some decent ones to use along with them. You are right about the newer ones, they are garbage.