Rotary mat
 

I am lucky enough to have a gift certificate for Amazon.com.........I love Amazon they have everything. I am thinking about buying a rotary mat. I prefer the Olfa brand but what size should I buy the 12x12 or the 17x17? I thought maybe the 17x17 inch was too big. :sew::wave:

Are you talking about a rotating mat? If so, I would go with the larger. I have the larger one and it is so much easier to cut on. The ruler has more flat space to lay for stability. A friend has the smaller one and it seems a little precarious to cut on to me.

Personally I would go big, get the largest mat you have room for and can afford. You can always cut small things on a large mat (rotating or not). But cutting lager things on a small mat results in frustration and miscues more often than not.

I'd go with the 24" x 18" mat, or something about that size. That way you can easily cut material folded in half lengthwise. Would save a lot of time. Then if you can have two mats and your space is limited you can use a smaller mat to do you cutting of the smaller pieces and blocks.

I would recommend the largest mat you can afford.

If I had a choice, I wouldn't go any smaller than 18x24.

I have always used a 24" x 36" Omnigrid rotary mat. I prefer Omnigrid over Olfa because they are a little bit thicker and last a lot longer.

if its a ROTATING mat- i agree go bigger. you can cut small pieces but you cant cut large pieces on a smaller mat..

If its a regular cutting mat.. again go for the biggest that will fit in that space intended for..

I have a 12x12 rotating mat. My next one will be bigger. But I also have a larger 22x34 cutting mat.

I have that huge mat that goes on the cutting table that JoAnn's sells and I love it for squaring up quilt tops. I also have a slightly smaller one that goes on one side of my cutting table and one a little smaller than that , it's goes where my machine sits to cut pieces. Nothing is smaller than 36 inches and I love them. I want that rotating mat but haven't been able to afford it yet. I have been collecting these things for 20 years so it all comes in time. Get the biggest one you have space for and can afford.