When you roll your cutter across the mat it immediately seals itself
and you can't see the cut anymore. These matts last a very long time.

I use an olfa self healing mat and love it. I like the one that's 18 x 24, it's not too small and it's not too big.

Alvin's is an online store, I think it is an art supply company. I don't know the web address, I just googled Alvin's cutting mats.

I have the very large (36 X 59 inch) white mat from Jo Ann's, but not sure of the brand as it does not say. I just assumed it would be self-healing, but it is not. It is OK for cutting fabrics, but when I cut batting, it stays in the cuts and is horrible. I have furry lines all over the mat. I have not noticed it being hard on my blades however. I think next time, I will just buy 2 of the Olfa mats and duct tape them together.

Fiskars also makes a self-healing mat (looks kind of yellow). I don't know how good it is but I'm looking for one in a lighter color than my Olfa green. I sometimes have trouble cutting fabric that is too close to the green color.

I have several mats-a couple I inherited from a friend from France, but don't think they are self-healing. My favorite is the Olfa Duraheal-24" x 36" and is a really good size for my cutting table. It is blue, and has held up for about 8 years so far, even in the tropical humidity where I use to live. I never noticed a smell, but when I bought it at Joann's, it was not wrapped or in a box. I also have a small 6" x 8" which is perfect just next to my machine for the small tasks. I never use any of my other mats for rotary cutting, but still find other uses for them in the sewing room. I would certainly recommend buying the larger size of any self-healing mat, and with 40% - 50% coupons periodically available at Joann's, it makes it much more affordable. In fact, I never buy a large ticket item unless I have the coupon. I just wait until one comes out. I even use it to buy whole bolts of backing fabric, which they still count as one single-cut. If you plan to make allot of rotary cut quilts, it is a key piece of equipment which will last years.

I'm one of those weird people who actually uses the lines on the cutting mat for measuring purposes when cutting for a quilt - rather than the lines on the ruler. Therefore, I really like the Fiskars mats and the Gingher mats. Their inch lines are all the same width, unlike Olfa that has wider lines every 5 inches. I also find that the tiny dots on the quarter inch lines make it very easy to accurately line up my ruler for cutting.

My favorite mat Is a large purple one Donna dewberry? I think that's her name. It's wonderful, the reason I like it best is because in between every 1/2 & 1 inch mark are dots marking the board, so it's easier to cut accurately. I still own tons of olfa mats various sizes, but I use the purple one most of the time.

Linda B, thank you for the feedback. I am looking into a different colored mat hoping it will help my cutting issues.

I have a large - 60 x 36 - mat that I got several years ago at JoAnne's. I think it is June Taylor, but it doesn't say anywhere. Anyway, it is white with black grids, and has been sitting on my dining room table for so long that my husband thinks it is just an ugly tablecloth. I love this mat. It must be selfhealing because I use it constantly and it is in great shape. And, I used one of their 50% off coupons so I got it for about $35.00.