Thread: What would you do?

I only use the lines on the mat, to line up my fabrics. I never use them as measurements. That is what my ruler is for. Since the mat is 4 years old, I do not think you will get any financial satisfaction from the company. You could try emailing them but I don't think it will do much good.

It's not anything you did to the mat and I'm sure it didn't "skew". Mats are not reliable for making accurate blocks. When I first started quilting, I also had a ruler that was not accurate - not good!

If you tell us how you're using the mat to measure, we can help you out with a more accurate way of doing what you're doing. You should always go by the ruler.

Even though it's been four years, I would definitely contact the company that produced the mat. Just tell them the problem, as you've explained it to us. Anything that's sold with marked measurements, is bought under the assumption that those measurements are correct. If the measurements are noticeably off, then the mat is defective.

That said, I also use a ruler for my final measuring. Although my own (Olfa) mat has proven to be accurate enough, my habit of measuring from the exact same center point of each line, is not.

I used my June Tailor Shape Cut ruler, for accurate blocks. http://www.junetailor.com/shapecutvideo.htm

Originally Posted by shayarene@yahoo.com

Neesie I just watched the video on cutting that you posted the link too. It was amazing. I want one of those rulers so bad. I am going to save up until I have enough to get one. That was totally amazing. Of course, she made it look so super easy and I am sure it would take me a while to get the "hang" of it, but wow. And I love to sew but not thrilled with cutting LOL so this method would save so much time. I am still amazed by this video. Thank you so much for sharing, as a newbie, I love learning all this new stuff. :-) Have a great day, Rachel

Rachel, that Shape Cut ruler has saved my sanity, sooooo many times! :-)

Originally Posted by jude by the sea

Hi everyone! I sort of have a delima and was wondering what others would do. About 4 years ago I went to a quilt show and purchased a large purple cutting mat and several rotary cutters. The other day I was so frustrated that some of my blocks were coming out a little smaller or larger but not much. So as I am starring at the cutting mat with my ruler laying on it I noticed that the inches didn't match up to the inches on my ruler! I then started checking the rulers inch to the mats inch and low and behold they didn't match as I traveled around the Mat checking for accuracy. No wonder I have had trouble with blocks being off! My delima is: should I contact the company who made the mat (which I won't mention the name on the board here cause I don't know if that's appropriate)! Or should I just let it go. I have taken really good care of the mat, always covered it and never let the sunshine hit it so I can't believe it's anything I did. I know it's four years old but I would never guess that such a large and expensive mat would skew! What would you all do? Let it go, as they say which I could but I worry about new quilters having the same issues! Plus now what good is mat? Yes I can use it as a straight line marker but in making blocks I can't trust the accuracy. I know I used all sides of the mat when I cut so maybe that's why my blocks weren't always exact. I asked a quilter about this and her answer was that she never uses the mat to cut her pieces. I was to embarrassed to ask how she cut her pieces but maybe there is something I should know about cutting pieces other than how I cut my pieces is by ruler and mat working together! Anyone have any input?

I will mention names. One of my June Tailor rulers is off---------I was so frustrated by the time I found the problem that I was ready to cry. So, NOW whatever brand I use, I use it across the board.

i only use my mat for lining up straight lines. i rely on my laser marked ruler for accuracy. i certainly wouldn't hurt to provide feedback to the company.