Hi Ruth,

I too have a Fiskars Mat, and have run into the same problem of a lot of cuts in it. It is just to thin. :( My last mat was a Olfa green mat and you can bet my next one will again be an Olfa as they seem to be a lot better quility for the price. :thumbup:

LOL Liz

Another thought on subject of cutting mats. Replace your blades. Often we just tend to press harder as they dull and this will cause those cuts in any mat. You will recognize this if there is bits of lint and fabric stuck in the cuts.

Just to throw my 2 cents in, I had a very badly warped mat and solved it by sliding it under my area rug in my livingroom. Everyone walked on it for a day or two and when I took it out, it was perfect. Now if it gets a slight warp, back under the rug it goes and that is now my favorite tip to my quilting girlfriends...IT WORKS...

I pudt my roatery mat on a piece of plywood so I can use it on my lap and I can store it in the closet or where ever I need to while visiting family and friends.

Please do not forget....you can find a web site for nearly every quilt product on the market. Contact them...let them know what you have encourntered and ask how to correct the problems. Often they will send you replacements or gifts in order to keep you as a value customer.

Let them know we appreciate the products they make as well as the fact we are not happy with others. They need to hear from us.

June

I put my vote for the green Olfa mat! I have, um, 1 big one that lives on my coffee table, 2 mediums - one lives on my sewing table, partially under my machine - it's actually the first one I ever bought, about 15 yrs old & cracked on one corner, but I can trim stuff on the other end ;-) - the other medium lives to travel to class with me, in my rolly cart, one small one, for paper piece trimming & one of the ones that rotate around - currently also on the coffee table! LOL (Also have a rather large collection of rotary cutters...have bought a couple on sale as they were cheaper than buying a blade alone!)
sue :D

Here is an idea that has been passed around our quilt guild: Take your warped mat to Kinko's and have them put it through the machine press used (ordinarily) for attaching a poster to a posterboard. The machine heats to 200 degrees and draws a vacuum. Some one actually tried this and it worked and saved the cost of a new mat. Kinko's charged $8 for a large mat and $5 for a small one.

What a wonderful tip! Thank you for sharing that information and welcome to our forum.

Thank you, I have been reading for a while and have enjoyed and used tips left by others here.

I'd left mine in a hot car - a brand new one - and flattened it by putting it on a sidewalk in the hot sun (summertime) with several large sheets of plexiglass over it and weighted down with large flower pots. It did the trick! Now I keep my mat under a throw rug (the throw rug is on carpeting) and it stays nice and flat.