How to Use Binder Clips

Binder clips -- a must-have when you need to keep paper stacked without staples -- also come in handy for crafting with lightweight, thin materials such as paper, felt and fabric. A binder clip works a bit like a clothespin, but the metal arms must be folded backwards to allow the clip to be squeezed.

A binder clip stays closed unless the two metal arms are aligned behind the widest part of the triangular metal clip. Fold the mobile metal arms backward if they are touching one another and facing the thin part of the triangle. Squeeze the arms as if squeezing the back of a clothespin, and the triangular clip's jaw opens, allowing you to secure it to the desired object, such as a stack of papers. Use binder clips like miniature clamps for crafting and creative projects -- hold pictures on a string or clothesline for a creative picture holder, or secure one to the back end of a tube of glue or silicone that is difficult to squeeze. Clip down the corners of paper that curl up as you try to glue the piece to cardboard for an art project, or keep cutout images ready for a collage grouped together by theme when planning a project. Clamp a large binder clip down at each side of a table over a tablecloth to hold the covering in place on a windy day, or hold your sheet music to the music stand during an outdoor performance.