Cutting table size
 

I just moved into a bigger house. I'm going from a 9x11 sewing room to a 16x30 sewing room, all to myself. When I originally planned out my space, I bought cabinets to make a 36x48 cutting table, double what I had. But now I have rearranged things and realize I have room for a bigger table. With what I have, I could do a 3x5 or a 4x4 or possibly a 4x6 if I just enlarged the top but left the base as 3x5. My conundrum is based on cutting mat sizes. I can get a standard 3x4 mat easily, however the other sizes would mean buying a really big mat then cutting it down to fit. I hate wasting money, but I don't want to regret going too small, then spend more than redo it later. What size table would you choose if you had the space?

Could you go with a 4x8? When we get my sewing area done, that is what I'm going with. We will get cabinets and a sheet of that stuff that is the 4x8. Don't know what it is call, but it is white and looks kind of a laminet. The cabinets will be the base.

Do you really need to go bigger? When I first started quilting I did all my cutting on a 12"x18" mat. I have a 24"x36" mat now and that's plenty big enough for me.

Cari

i miss my table that hubby built for me for my height, but it won't fit in any room of our current home. it was up to my waste (i'm short) so that i could cut w/o bending over, i could sew standing up (i have advanced degenerative spinal disease). the table is 8' long, 3' wide, easily disassembled & currently resides in my garagenin pieces. i would have like 4' wide ..but the room i used for sewing & crafting was long & narrow, so he built what we could fit in. when cutting i like a mat large enough to cover entire table as i cut borders length of fabric to length needed ..i don't piece borders unless it's part of my intended design. i also like having cutting right by my machine for trimming etc and with a table sized mat i had cutting area by each machine i had set up. i would have one domestic for sewing & one domestic for fmq. i made a ironing pad that attached with velcro strips and i could iron full sized quilt tops, i could baste quilts, mark quilts for quilting ..i am now using the dining table & i miss my long beautiful table every time i try to sew for a bit ..sitting down. i got one block done today and then my back said "quit".
...basically if you have room for longer table area, do it. if you have to cut oversized mat down to fit, do it ..the pieces have several uses ..small portable cutting mats to travel with, purse/tote bag bottoms ..

I would go for a larger table, you can start with a smaller mat and go larger at a later date if you want. I think having extra table space is ALWAYS a plus, it gives you a place to stack your cut fabrics, blocks, supplies, etc.

If I remember right, there is a website that will make cutting mats any size you want them. I'll go get my friend Cindi, she's ordered from them in the past. Standby....

Peggi sent me! I got mine from Speedpress http://www.speedpress.com/products/2/2, which is a company that makes mats for photographers and mat framers. I called them and they said they sell lots of them to quilters.
Bought it in 2011, and it's still holding up beautifully after many, many cuts. They have quite a few different sizes, and can custom-size a mat to your specifications. Mine is 38.7 x 71.7, the largest non-custom size they sell.
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I will say the one caveat is that their corners don't start at -0-, which can throw some people off. It's not been a problem for me, but it's something to consider. If you custom order a size, maybe they can change the numbering so it starts at zero. Never thought about that. Regardless, it definitely won't stop me from buying it again when this one has to be replaced. It's held up much better than any other mat I've purchased.
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I'm about to place an order for a custom size Big Mat, which I read about in Threads.
http://www.sewingemporium.com/
My husband made me a custom cutting surface that sits on top of my dining room table and brings it up to a comfortable height. It's much smaller than what you are considering, but larger than my current mat which is deteriorating. Before Christmas, I did a bunch of research on mats and between the 'it's stinky' and 'it doesn't self heal' reviews, I narrowed it down to 2. I ordered the 8X10 sizes in both and decided to go with the Big Mat.

My cutting table is roughly 4 1/2' x 7, I would love to have a set of Olfa self healing cutting mats that click together somehow, but haven't gotten one yet, maybe sometime this year. I believe that the really big mats that you're talking about, are not self healing and so you'll end up cutting lines in the mat, which doesn't help your blades.

I agree with Pocoellie...those white mats are not what you want. If you have room, go as big as you can. But, remember on the depth of the table....your arms only go so far. So, if I had a 5'X7' table, I can't reach 5' depth....I think as long as you have enough to cut the width of common fabric...you'd be okay. My table is 3' X 5'. It's plenty big enough EXCEPT when I use the big June Taylor strip cutter.....Then, I have to move stuff from the edge of the table so I can lay the ruler down. If you want room to put your cutting rulers or accessories, you might want to go bigger. I have my rulers on my sewing table (which is next to my cutting table). Enjoy planning!

I got a 36" x 60" (I think) mat from Joann Fabrics. Used my half off coupon and it was very affordable. I use it on the table that used to be in our larger breakfast room with both leaves in. It works great and I'm happy for the larger space to lay things out, cut larger pieces of fabric and just generally have a large workspace. I tend to like to have room to spread out. I had a smaller mat 3' x 4' or so near the sewing machine, but I often use my larger mat because I can lay out a lot of fabrics and still have working room.