Home made cutting mat
 

I have a square Olfa cutting mat and I would really like one that is longer, however I don't know that I want to make the investment in another mat, especially since the longer mats are quite expensive.

Has anyone found an alternative to purchasing those types of mats for cutting fabric? I'm looking for something that I can lay on top of my table to cut my quilt squares and even up my quilt tops.

Can't think of anything that wouldn't also ruin your cutter. I got a 6' ruler at Lowes. When I want to square up a quilt, I lay it on a table, use a large square ruler to mark the corners square, then use the 6' ruler to join the markings between the corners, along the edges. With the quilt marked where you want to cut it, you can slide it along your mat, cut that portion, then slide it down more. You don't have to worry too much about marking the quilt because the edge is going to be covered with the binding.

I have a large table for making curtains, (terrific for quilting as well), and was gifted a used, large clear 'plastic' mat, the type that is used under office chairs, to protect carpet and helps move around. It gives me a huge cutting area 40x48ins. Does it dull my cutter blades? - perhaps - I haven't done any comparisons as I use proper mats as well, but I wouldn't be without it now. Just wish it was the full width of my table.

If you have a JoAnn store nearby, check their sales often. When the cutting mats are on sale, try to get a 32"x24" mat - this will be a great investment and should last for years. I bought one 5 years ago and it's still in great shape.

Mats at JAF are normally on sale the day after Thanksgiving. I prefer the Omnigrid mats over the Olfa mats which have become very thin over the years. They can ONLY buy them online at JAF. I think they also have free shipping!!

Hobby Lobby always has a 40% OFF coupon on line.

Anything else would not be self healing mats. I only use the regular self healing mats.

I tried taping two mats together for cutting purposes only, but it did not work. I think PaperPrincess has a good idea.

When I used to do drapes I had a very long table - over 8 feet long. My DH made me a nice smooth wood T-square over 8 feet long. I didn't worry so much about actal measurement, I just marked a V notch in pencil on the T-square location and used it as a guide to be sure I was cutting straight. Never heard of mats or rotary cutters! For corners, I used a big heavy 2' L square. But drapes aren't requiring the accuracy of quilting!

To square up now I lay the quilt on the floor, and measure kitty-corner both ways. If the two measurements are not equal I have a problem! If they are, I'm good.

I took a Craftsy class specifically on cutting your pieces efficiently and the teacher uses multiples of 17 X 23 mats. Actually, the outer measurements are bigger than that but the grid is marked at 17 X 23.

I have the large 36X59 inch cutting mat that fits my cutting table. I love it for those large projects. They are a little pricey if you pay full price, but, they are on sale right now for $49.99 or if you wait and use a 50% off coupon you could get it for about $35.00. Also, around the holidays or black friday they often have a 60% off coupon. Might want to wait for that.