ok here goes. i did a really dumb thing a while back and left a rotary cutting mat in my car and it is warped. i cannot bring myself to throw it away! is it possible to salvage it in any way or can it be put to another use?

oh no, that is terrible!

I have heard of some people - putting it out in the sun (again) to reheat it - then place heavy objects on it to flatten it out.

I've also heard of others who have trimmed the mat down into a usable size (e.g. the portion that isn't warped).

And... I've heard of others who have trimmed it down into circles then placed the circle on top of a lazy suzan to make trimming finished squares easier.

Having said that all - I haven't done any of those.

Good luck.

I've heard all that KiwiQuilter has heard - but haven't had to try any of them. Go to the top of the page here and do search - there's been other talk about this on the board - you should be able to get LOTS of ideas there!

No such thing as a dumb question....but my kids have plenty of smart answers! the mat will flatten with the swun and weights but I wouldn't trust the ruler parts may be distorted.

Sun not swun sorry

I would go with the sun thing first, but it may distort your lines, just don't use them! If your car is dark, you may want to consider leaving it on the roof for an afternoon, all toasty warm and getting flatter by the moment. Just make sure that you leave it in a perfectly flat place to cool.

I tossed mine after I ironed on it (and you thought you were dumb???) but I heard some cut theirs down for inserts for tote bags bottoms. I would have tried that if I hadn't got rid of the darn thing.

Put it back in the car but this time turn it over the other way and maybe it will unwarp. :wink:

thanks everyone! great suggestions!

I glued mine down to a piece of wood. Secure with clamps and weights (all over) until it dries.

Good luck

I cut one large one into different size mats. I use one for mouse pad, works great. I use one for the kitchen as a utility mat. It washes just fine. I like the idea of using the old mats for tote bottoms.

Using as tote inserts is a great idea.

I did the same thing. I used a piece of muslin to protect it and used my iron. Then I put it between the box spring and mattress for a few days. I can still cut on it but the ruler is off. Don't ask me how I know!

I would try setting it back out in the sun upside down and see if that will unwarp it

What size is it? I have turned on my oven to 250, shut it off, and put mat on cookie sheet for a few minutes. It worked, but it was not a HUGE mat.

My husband fixed mine. I had tried sitting it in the sun with heavy books on it, but I got creases where the books were. He said my mistake was putting several objects on it instead of one big flat thing.

So he set it in the sun, on the hot patio concrete and put a heavy piece of plywood type stuff on it. I forgot how long he left it there...at least several hours and maybe overnight.

It is fine now. I remember googling the problem and finding many solutions. You might try that also.

It might make good templates.

I had purchased a large one one time. I forgot where, it was shipped to me ROLLED UP!!! Can you belive that. I could not do anything with it. I called the company and they offered to send a new one. I said, I will shop else where, just give me a refund. They appologised up and down.
I ended up going to town and getting one in my local quilt shop!
I am a happy camper.
I have heard though, like the others, putting it out in the sun with something heavy on it. The gal that mentioned the ply wood sounds like a great idea.
Rememeber... No question is ever dumb!

Use it to make templates.

I did the same thing and mine was new made me sick

I wish I could say that I have never done that. I accidentally ironed mine as well. I will try some of the suggestions here. Thanks for asking the "smart" question so I could learn as well.

what a great idea---i never thought of that.

I did the same thing and ended up buying a new one. Recently someone posted that she put it in the oven on low heat and used a flat surface and heavy books to weigh it down for cooling. According to that member, the mat went flat again. You may want to do a search on cutting mats.

I gave a really large mat to my Mom a few years ago when she showed an interest in quilting, but she only made one quilt before losing the passion. She recently gave it back to me, but had stored it under her bed with half of it on top of a small box so it warped. Thanks for the hot-car-in-the-sun idea, I will try that!

Here I thought I was the only one who did that!! What was I thinking to iron on it even with a towel?? Live and learn.

It happened to me too!! I had read that you warm up your oven, then turn it off and place mat in oven with something heavy on it. Within half an hour my mat was perfect again!

Throw away. Not only will it not warp back to shape, there will also be awful smell coming from it. WE ALL learned the hard way. So sorry you did too.

Put in back in the car for an hour or so on a sunny day and when it's warm, put it between your mattress and box springs for a day or two! I've done this and it works!

I bought a large one in summer about 4 years ago, put into daughter's car with shopping on top and completely ruined by the time we got back to her house. I tried most things to flatten it again but the bumps remained; now I've followed Alex Anderson's advice and cut it up into smaller mats, discarding the bubbly parts, after buying a new larger one of course!!!

Last summer I discovered how to unwarp 'em. Here in AZ our sun is HOT. I laid one out on the driveway during the hottest part of the afternoon. Then I brought it inside and laid it on the cool floor. Instant flat.

My husband draped mine over my machine and tote in the back of my car. He loaded it in there in the morning so I could go to class right after work. It got so warm that day that it warped my cutting mat. I then laid it in the back of my car, a Pontiac Aztec, a flat area, and let it warm up all day. That seemed to really help. Try anything. What have you got to lose? Good luck!

i heard the thing about laying it in the sun also but have never tried it

We have someone in our guild who is part owner in a frame shop. She will run ours through their press. You might want to check out a frame shop in your area.
SandyGail

I have two of my mats glued to a very thin piece of plywood and have been using them for two years and they work fine. In fact you have no problem with storage because you can stand them up or lay them down if you leave a little edge of the wood outside of the mat.

I have heard of putting it in the oven on the lowest temp. for a couple of hours to flatten it.

I would think that if you could curl the mat with heat, you could straighten with heat also. I would put a cloth on it and iron it, then put heavy equipmnet or books on it for a few days.

I've heard that you soak it in water and then lay it in the sun again but weighted down with something. ... I think that's what it was.

and then of course there is always the option to turn it into a smaller cutting board to take to classes etc.

hope something works for you

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

actually i did set it on my car sunday when it was hot and most of it is pretty straight now. i think i will probably cut it into smaller pieces and use it for small projects - i liked the idea of putting it on a lazy susan for blocks. everyone had some great ideas - i love this group!! thanks again!

I had a warped one....I put it under the mattress in our 5er (5th wheel trailer) to use when on our winter trip --- I did that in November. Took it out today and it's flat now!!!! :thumbup: BTW -It gets really hot in the 5er --- so hot I take the food out...so the weight of the mattress and the heat probably did the trick.