If it's on the front - and perhaps about waist high - it could be from occasionally rubbing against a counter top or a work bench.
Check this thread out (from a different forum). Read to your heart's content - all kinds of ideas, thoughts, and premises. But check the post by "dpak1" from Mar. 21, '08, about 1/3 of the way down the page. The posts are in ascending date sequence so it shouldn't be too hard to find. Read that post and subsequent ones as well:
Holes in Clothing -part II - Laundry Room Forum - GardenWeb
Bill
