cutting mats
 

I am looking to buy a new mat. I have had Omnigrid before. Are the Olfa mats better? Or any other brand? thanks,Gina

before you buy a new mat, try this trick from Fons & Porter, soak your mat in a tub of water it needs to lay flat. Slightly warm water with white vinegar, soak for an hour and brush off with a mushroom brush (or other soft brush). The mat will be like new. I have done this with both Olfla and Omnigrid and it works.

Thanks for that tip! I saw some cutting mats at Hobby Lobby the other day that were not in the quilting section. They were with the compasses and drafting tools. Don't recall the manufacturer name; not one I'd heard of in quilting, but it said they were self-healing and the price was only about $15 for one 16" or 18" x 25". Wonder how that would work?

I have an "Alvin" brand cutting mat I bought on Amazon - seems to work just as well as my smaller Olfa mat! I like it because it is 2 sided - one side black, the other green. I like using the black side for light fabrics - makes it easy to see where my edges are.

Next time, I'm probably going to avoid a green mat. I use painter's tape a lot to make spacing and the green and the blue aren't a lot different when viewed thru a ruler, IMO!

I have an 6x18 Fiskars that came with my first rotary cutter (which I still haven't found!) and I love it, I got it a Wal*Mart. Someone one on QB a while back had gone to HomeDepot or Lowes and had some large sheet of plastic sheeting cut into various sizes (for free) and she left with several pieces/sizes for a fraction of the cost of the quilting/craft cutting mats.

I purchased an Alvin cutting mat directly from the manufacturer http://www.cutting-mats.net/self-healing-green.html, great mat, great price and had it in 2 days. It's wonderful, markings are a little different than than olfa but easy enough to get used to. Almost twice as thick as the others.

Yesterday I had to move to my dining room table to cut fabric (the cutting table in sewing room is filled with debris for the quilt in process.). Anyway, I had to use an old cuttung mat which is blue. In fact, it is the same blue as the fabric I was cutting and also matches the lovely blue of the tape markings on my ruler. I love to make things difficult for myself.

I personally love my green ones. I have a dark gray one (on a turntable kind of deal) & a kind of clear-ish white one (can't remember the brand). I use them but am not as thrilled with them as I am with all of my Olfas.

My husband bought me (at my request) Olfa mats for Christmas. The last one I bought was about five years ago. I am astonished at how thin they are now! They seem not to be as "healing" as they used to be, in my opinion. Mine already have cut marks that won't come out.

Well, I sure am sorry to hear that since my new Olfa cutting mat was just delivered today. (in fact, is is still in the box!)
It is the biggest one I could find. My other mat (don't know the brand) is just full of cuts where I use it the most (in the middle) and I had decided to spend more and get a self healing mat.

I love my two Dritz 30" x 36" thick (1/8") white mats with maroon markings (inches, angles, curves). I've had them for over 20 years with no problems and see that JoAnn is still selling them.

I have a couple of the green Olfa's and they just seem too thin to protect my dining table when I'm bearing down on the rotary cutter, so I never use them.

I have all brands of cutting mats. My favorite is June Taylor hard surface mats. The rotary cutter blade rolls on top of the mat and doesn't cut into it so the blade does not dull as fast.

Thank you for all the replies. ArtsOne, I think I will try the Dritz brand. I have never had a mat last more than a few years, although for various reasons, not just wearing out. I bought MegaMat at the Houston show about 3 yrs ago and it has not worn well. Very disappointed in that one. I ruined my Omnigrid by forgetting about it and placing my homemade ironing mat on top of it and ironing away! I have tried unsuccessfully for a week to get the rumples out of it.
I used to have one of June Taylor blue mats, but my dd got glue on it when she was working on costumes for our equestrian drill team. I sent it home with her to finish her boyfriends quilt.

Anyway, I'll be trying the Dritz brand. Thanks again,Gina

ArtsyOne-
I am curious which Jo-Ann's you found the Dritz 30x36 cutting mat. I am in the market for a second for a new sewing table (I LOVE the one I have) and would like another. I have not been able to locate one at my local Jo-Ann's nor have I found one on their mobile site. Any help is appreciated! I am willing to call the store where you found it & have them mail it to me!! Thanks!

I was just looking at the Alvin mats and found this site that seems really reasonable for one...http://www.cheapjoes.com/cat/6839/

I just saw them today while shopping at Hancock Fabrics. They were in a box rolled up by the scissors, didn't buy one because I needed a smaller one. You could check their online site if you don't live near a Hancock's (they take Hobby Lobby coupons).