I've seen a few episodes of "Fons and Porter" and whenever they use their rotarty cutter they put on a glove to protect their hand on the ruler. I've never seen or heard of this before. Does anyone out there think they are necessary?

They look clumsy, don't they? I guess they are supposed to protect your hands so you won't cut yourself. I'm pretty cautious when I'm using that rotary cutter so, no, I don't use one. I guess it depends on ones "clumsy factor."

I do use gloves when I'm machine quilting though. What a difference quilting gloves make during that process.

I have looked for those gloves also - with no luck. The might look clumsy on TV but I would like to have the reassurance that if I ran off the fabric onto the ruler, I wouldn't cut my hand. A moderate cut can really set you back from handcrafting for at least a week or so. If anyone knows where the gloves are sold, let me know. Thanks. Kath

Try a wood carving store (Woodcraft). They have special gloves for those guys who become intimate with a very sharp knife and a block of wood. I have one, but it doesn't come close to my quilting table. I am just careful with a rotary cutter and haven't felt like it was even close to jumping over the edge of my ruler.

One thing to keep in mind is when cutting, put yourself into a zone where all attention is on the task at hand. If you can't and have frequent distractions, internal or external... do something else.

tim in san jose

When I was born I had a tag on each big toe, one of them said do not dress in white and the other said keep away from sharp objects. I cut off a portion of my left index finger with a very sharp rotary cutter. :oops: Luckily I had a very thick callous so it was not so bad. One of the quilting shows I watch has suggested using gardening gloves that have the textured surface on the bottom of the fingers. I have tried that and wearing finger stalls used in office work for picking up paper and find them very clumsy. Of course, I probably would. :roll: Cutting my finger however has taught me to slow down and not talk to my sewing partner while making a cut.

The gloves I have seen that you are talking about are special. They are made especially for safety when cutting. They have some kind of mesh that protects you, and meat cutters use them all the time. Also fons and Porter have a new tool out that is a strip of the hard plastic that is taped on the ruler itself. That to me looks like it would work, and save a few fingers. I first found it in a quilting book, don't know which one, and then saw it at Joanns which is carrying a large selection of Fons and Porter line of quilting gadgets. So mine does have it and probably at others you can find it if not, a catalog from Fons and porter will carry it. Hope this helps you all.

Rita

The gloves you are looking for are called clutz gloves you can get them at your quilt shop. The shop I work at will only special order them because the manufacturer recomends they need to fit really well, and they come in several sizes. They are a bit expensive so she does not keep them in stock but can get them when ever someone asks for them. You might ask your quilt shop owner or look on line. I think the are between $25 to $30. They really do work. We have the extra smalls at the shop for all the kids classes.

Fons and Porter sell these gloves on their web site.

:P :P I bought two pair of these gloves on the Fons and Porter web site.

I got a small pair for my grandson whom I was trying to teach and thought it would be a good idea if I wore them as well. I have large hands and ordered the large size. should have gotten a medium. But I digress, check out the Fons and Porter web site.

I am a diabetic so I always use the clutz glove Makes me feel more secure. :D