A Mystery, But Not An Emergency
 

I use "Machingers" when I quilt. They work the very best of anything I've tried, including the "Batt Scooters."

You put them on when you start to quilt your project, they touch the fabric and you remove them when you need to do another task; i.e. put in a new bobbin or re-thread your needle.

So how in the world do they get so dirty? Washing them is an easy chore, but I can't figure out how they get so dirty. Am I the only one who has noticed this? Doubt it. It is just one of those things that I am at a loss to explain.

So when you don't have anything else to do I'd love to hear if I'm alone on this.

That may be another reason to prewash all fabric. If you don't prewash do you have any idea how many hands have touched the fabric before you and where they've been. I know many people who go from machine to meal preparation with out washing their hands. Something to really think about. People laugh at me and are sometimes offended if they come to my house to help with a meal and I insist they wash their hands before helping and before eating. Know how much dirt is on a pet before preparing a meal?

I use Machingers too. I washed them once when I first bought them but no washings after that. They don't look dirty. I have used them for the last three quilts I machined quilted. Odd.

BettyGee: Mine get dirty as well...interesting. I don't prewash fabric before doing a project. tessagin is probably right about that being the culprit.

I'm the same way. I use to not eat any food not prepared by me or my grandmother because I didn't see the person cook it. LOL. I have gotten better about eating potluck meals at groups. I decided the heat of the cooking will kill most germs from someone's hands. And I want new disposable table ware to eat it. I don't eat non cooked foods at group potlucks at all.

I heard/read somewhere that it isn't actually dirt, but color transferring from the fabric to the gloves, but that it doesn't transfer back from the gloves to other fabric (convenient, if true).

I, too, am amazed at how dirty they get. I think it is more dye coming off the fabric, but I don't really know. It hasn't made me a pre-washer yet though and I don't expect it to.....LOL.....

I prewash all my fabrics and yes my gloves need washing regularly. At the moment the fingers are kind of yellow, and that's from the black kona fabric I've been working with.

I'm one with dirty Machingers too. Even after washing them, they don't ever look like new again; but they make fmq so much easier. I lean both ways depending on the project. Have prewashed some fabric and other projects I don't prewash at all.

I use machingers too and they also get grubby looking. I pre-wash all my fabric. However, like blue jeans for one, I don't think pre-washing gets all the loose dye out of all of the fabrics so gets transferred to the gloves while working with them. Additionally, depending on the size of the project, you could be several months from start to finish and as a result the quilt is going to pick up dust. Then there are the marking tools you use, pens, chalk etc. Again, I'm sure a certain amount of that gets picked up by the gloves. They are rubberized, so there is friction when you handle the fabric. If there is anything to rub off, they are going to get it. I don't worry about it. The only thing I touch with my gloves are quilts, so I'm pretty confident they aren't transferring anything to the quilts I work on. I wash my quilt when it's done. Check this out.... http://rhondabracey.com/?s=Machingers