Frank,

Welcome to our message board!

As far as I can tell, the brownish marks are probably from the oils in your hands. Switching to plastic was definitely a great idea, though if you're still experiencing marks with a plastic hoop, that's likely because the oils in your hands are still exposed to the fabric when you handle the hoop.

I know about a great product that I bought so many years ago, it was about the time the Earth's crust was still cooling.  Have you tried Q-Snaps? They're more of a frame with a covering that holds the fabric onto the frame, so you don't end up touching the fabric directly when you hold the outside part of it. I swear, I don't sell for them...but it's a very, very good product and I haven't looked back to a hoop since switching.

Their official website is:

It seems the site is more for demonstration and sales to distributors and wholesalers than individual sales, but I bought mine so long ago from a needlework shop, so that's where you may want to look. I've also seen them on Amazon. If you're located in a cross stitch shop desert, sigh, mail order sources probably sell them too.

As for the marks already on your fabric, I'm not sure if this site helps, as they're talking more about spots than marks, but I do like their list of solutions to different problems that can happen. Which I find quite useful because just about looking at it the wrong way seems to stain cross stitch fabric!

I know how distressing it is to find marks on a beautiful project and hope the stain removal and Q-Snap solutions are of some help! And having used hoops before, honestly, I much prefer the feel of the Q-Snaps.

Hope that helps!