Railroadersbrat

Off-brand clips here and so far, I've had zero issues with them, other than the fact that I ran out on the last side of a quilt I just finished a couple weeks ago. I intend to buy more, none have broken, none have sprung and they hold on pretty good.

SueZQ from MN

All I have are Clover brand and I love them for sewing on my bindings by hand. No more getting stabbed with pins or snagging my thread as I stitch. I would never go back to using pins for attaching binding again. I also use various sizes of binder clips to keep my precut strips organized by width and my bargello pieces in order. I will also add, that in a pinch, wooden clothespins work just fine also and they are available in different sizes too.

WMUTeach

I had, notice the past tense, a single package of Clover brand clips. Over time, about 4 or 5 years, I am down to only two left. Yes, I love to use them and my cat has figured out how to bite them so they open up. Then they become play things that get lost. I have put them on my birthday list and hope to get another set of cat toys. I use them only for adding my binding and would use any brand I had in hand. Two of the Clover brand did break while I was using them, the metal "spring" just snapped leaving me with just the plastic pieces. I particularly like the lines on the back so I can keep my binding folded over evenly.

Watson

I was at Hancocks in Paducah for the quilt show last year and picked up a bonus pack of 50 regular Clover clips and 10 mini clips for $9.99. I showed it to the sales clerk and she said.."Don't argue, just take them up to the till.", so I got 60 for $10.00 which was defintely the Deal of the Day!
I love them, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy off brand if I ever lose these.

Watson

Homespun

I love using mine while binding quilts. i do find that they break easily. Anyone else have that experience?

Snooze2978

I bought the "real" clover clips at the beginning but someone here on this site told us about look-alike clover clips in a tin box of 100 multi-colored for little to nothing so I went and order them. They seem to be the same size, work the same and I'm using them more so than the real ones these days.

mac

During one of the 109 degrees day, here in California, I was binding an antique wool quilt for a friend. The binding was thin wool and boy did it shred. Unfortunately I didn't think to use pinking shears to cut out the wool binding. I fought that wool binding with all the strings and shredding until I thought I would trash that quilt in the garbage can. The owner wanted the binding done in a single layer, so I pretty much had to fight the shredding of the binding on both sides of the quilt. The only thing that helped keep me sane was my off-brand clips (I don't have any Clover clips). It was a large quilt and I ran out when I got to the last side and had to use straight pins. I did the straight pinned side first and the pins bit and scratched me the whole way. The quilt was very heavy and no matter what I did the pins stuck me. I was so glad to get to the sides with the clips. I will never use straight pins again for the binding. Nor will I ever bind or make a wool quilt. It was 'one and done.'

Just so you know, the cheap clips that I purchased in the cute little cans and some without the cute little can, they do indeed have line markings on them just like the clover ones.

oldmanquilts

Definitely the generic clips. I'd bet if you followed the manufacturing trail of the Clovers their paths would cross as some point. The generic ones have served me well. And clips are something that falls on the floor, and likely gets stepped on and broke, Better a 10 cent clip than a 75 cent clip. You can't just put a recognized brand name on a generic product and up charge it times 10. I won't buy it. It's not like it's made in USA.

bakermom

I bought a jar of 100 from Amazon several years ago. Paid 8-9 dollars at the time. Have yet to have one break.

Trudii

I started with the little red 'name brand' clips and have stuck with them, have not bought the off brand because I did read reviews of people having issues with them breaking. None of the red ones have broken for me, and I have stepped on a few (without shoes, which hurts a great deal) and they were none the worse for it. I use them primarily for binding. Just keep a big jar or something to hold them as you take them off. Also use them to hold individual blocks or sets of blocks together to keep my pattern in order. I use them when sewing all sorts of things, not just quilts, sometimes use them to keep fabric lined up or as a placeholder when I'm measuring multiple yards and need to move the ruler.

I had some low dollar eBay coupons / eBay bucks over the years and bought the jumbo purple off-brand clips. Those are nice also, hold well but they really do need more bulk to be effective. I wouldn't spend money to get the official ones because I just don't use them enough, I still go for the medium sized red ones first.

The medium sized ones make the most wonderful clicking noise on the hardwood floor, so most that touch the floor are re-appropriated by my furry overlords. I moved an old steamer trunk and found no less than 10 of them, I cannot imagine how many are under beds and dressers that I will only find if I ever move.

As for price, the regular retail for the official clips is ridiculous ($65 / 100). And buying anything less than 100 at a time you're paying an extra premium on top of that. I have bought more than 1 set, and have been super patient for one of those magical times when Joann has quilting notions on sale and a % off coupon that can stack. Still more than the generics price, of course, but I'm OK with that as they have held up well.