Mats & Rulers - Green, vs. White
 

I have all green mats and mostly green rulers. There are times when I just can't see the fabric edge very well because lack of contrast. I'm thinking of buying some clear rulers, and/or, a white mat, but I have such a limited workspace. What are your opinions on this? Thanks.

I changed out my mats to Quilter's Select brand. Light gray on one side and dark gray on the other side. I also bought QS rulers in the basic sizes. They are the best I have used. I buy Creative Grids rulers when I want a speciality ruler. The rulers that have the colored lines like yellow and orange were always on the guild free table. No one wanted them. I have a few left of the bigger size squares I use for square up.

With my vision issues I often have issues with the rulers anyway. Dealing with "Olfa green" is actually pretty easy. I use a piece of paper or an envelope on one/the cut side of the fabric. Not shown in this picture but sometimes overlapping that top edge help too if your cut is wide enough.

I'll also mark/reinforce my cutting thickness with a piece of tape on my ruler, helps me be consistent and lets me see/count the grid where I can.

I'm with Onebyone on this, in favor of Quilter"s Select rulers. They don't slide. They're expensive, but make a big difference in cutting. I'm on the fence about the mat because it's thick and heavy. I tend not to use it. And if I'm cutting the same shape, I often use tape on my ruler, too.

One of the biggest changes I made was to a white mat. I love it. My rulers are clear and whatever brand I purchase, I just make sure they aren't cluttered with markings which makes it easy to see. I'm 63 and eyes aren't what they used to be - even with glasses. My cutting table is quite large and the white sure brightened up the room!

One of our lovely board members here sent me this gift ruler which is rapidly becoming one of my best friends. It is by Missouri Quilt Co and is bright fluorescent green in the sun, but in the house it lets me see the grid for black fabric. A very handy 2.5x8" width I'm using it for all my subunits. I was actually cutting 1.75" strips which is where the tape is, the tape also provides a little bit of grip which is nice.

My eye doctor had a talk with me last visit. He says that some of the issues I'm having, especially for example, troubles with black fabric are due from "the normal processes of aging" (nice doctor code for "macular degeneration" which unfortunately for me I'm more on the early onset side of things and that I'll be having my first cataract surgery probably within the next two-three years in order to give me the most vision possible as I can combined with my primary cornea issues.

PS/Edit: woo, I see a lot more thread on that black scrap on the picture than in real life! Sometimes a little vision fuzz maybe isn't so bad :p

I really, really dislike the rulers that have yellow lines painted on them. They are so hard to see through! I've switched to Creative Grids and Olfa frosted rulers. The Creative Grids have a see-through non-slip texture on the back. I've also stopped replacing my green cutting mats with more green cutting mats. I bought a white one at the office supply store, and have my eye on a navy blue one at the LQS. Who decided that ugly green was the color to use anyway??

Quilters Select for me too! They are fantastic.

I use tape, too! Especially colored electrical tape. Pulls off very easily and the same piece can be used several times.

Did you know Quilter's Select mats have very thin layer of memory foam? I don't find the mats thick but they are heavier.

My 18 x 24 mat is from U.S. Art Supply, that one is pink on one side, blue on the other. My 9 x 11 cutting mat is from KC Global, that is pink on both sides and then my 8 x 8 rotating mat is from Fiskars, that one is grey.

I've used the green mats before and found after a while, I was getting really bored with that color and actually hated using them, so when it was time to get new ones, I went with completely different colors and chose the pink and blue. I haven't had that problem with boredom since and the colors, at least for me, are easy on the eyes. I just ordered a 24 x 36 cutting mat on Amazon from Dahle Vantage, that one is blue.

As for my rulers, two are from Arteza (a 1 x 6 and then a 6 x 12) and they use the yellow and black lines, then I have a ruler from Fiskars (4 x 18, I think), black and white lines. I love all my rulers.

Eye health has been important to me since I was in my early 20s and discovered that sitting down to read all of Stephen King's The Stand, uncut version (1141 pages) in three days (almost 400 pages a day) is not actually a good thing for the peepers and read myself right into the most severe eye strain my eye doctor ever seen in one of his patients. I've been in glasses ever since, but I'm not upset, the book was just that good and I couldn't put it down until I read every word, I've been that way with Stephen King since I read Pet Sematary when I was 14. Needless to say, I've learned what I can handle and what I can't over the years, been wearing glasses with blue blocking technology since it first came out and I protect them with sunglasses with all the UV UVB blocking goodies. Even when I play Halo with my fiance, I have a set of blue blocking glasses just for gaming.

Boredom aside, I think it would be a smart move if the companies that make these cutting mats and rulers take into consideration the amount of time that people actually spend using their products and begin making a line that would benefit eye health. I once handled a Missouri Star Quilt Company's ruler, that bright, bright green bore a hole right into my brain and gave me a headache, so sadly, I can't use their rulers or anything neon. I understand the concept, but staring at those bright colors for as long as we do has to be doing something to our eyes. That said, I'll always use muted colors.

Not trying to hijack the topic, but I was working 3rd shift at the time I read "Salem's Lot", by Steven King. Scared the **** out of me.

I have lots of rulers and mats. Different brands and different sizes. My favorite rulers are creative grids as there is black and white markings. Easy to use on light or dark fabrics and see the correct line for measuring/cutting.

The 5 inch msqc ruler is used to fold smaller pieces in a 5 inch for storage. I don't cut with it. I have two QS rulers but don't like the frost on them as the lines don't show the fabric as well as CG. The marking aren't the best for my eyes either. Yes, I am particular.

Mats have to be numbered left to right. I don't buy the mats with the two number system where the second number is of the opposite direction. There is also a mat under my machine for quick measures (no cutting) if needed.

I mostly have the old green cutting mats....too many to replace....but I also picked up one at a local chain store that has yellow on one side and a light green on the other side....so if I have a fabric that is hard to see, I just change out the cutting mat. No matter what color mat you have, there will always be a fabric that is hard to see on it....so having a choice of colors works for me. I seldom measure using the markings on the mat....just use the lines to line up the straight edge of the fabric with.

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This is what I have done too. I love Quilter's Select rulers and mats. I was out yesterday to a new LQS and almost bought another rulers but stopped myself. I agree with you that they are the best. The ruler grip is the best and the mat make it easiest to work with theses rulers.

I don't have issues with the green mats at all but am currently in quite a ruler quandary. I have a variety of brands/sizes of rulers. I do not have any of the neon yellow and/or green rulers. They just hurt my eyes from a color perspective as well as having just too many markings for my taste.

One of my favorite rulers is a Fiskars 6.5 x 24. What I like best about this ruler is the half inch mark on both the 24 and 6" sizes have a light shading so that I know quickly/easily which way I need to position the ruler for measuring. All of my other rulers are plain black markings on clear rulers. Which is peachy for me. My issue is most of the rulers have that extra 1/2 inch on one or two sides of the ruler with no clear marking of that extra half inch! The numbers have worn off on the clear side of my favorite Fiskar's ruler. I could just replace that ruler but I'd really prefer one that is 8-9" wide vs just 6.5. Fiskar's does not seem to make one. None of the other brands I have looked at in those width's seem to have that magical colored edge.

I'm also not sure about the Quilter's Select rulers as they have the anti-glare or whatever coating. I'm not sure if my 65 yr old eyes will be able to see the markings through the tint easily enough.

I'm currently in the middle of a JN quilt and some of the rulers I own are making my crazier than I really need to be during this particularly intricate pattern cutting. I'm really at a loss.

Any insight (no pun intended) anyone can offer on sizes or the 'seeability' of the QS rulers would be greatly appreciated.

I know the older guild members like the QS rulers. The lines are dark and thin and no jumble of marks. You can try one out at any quilt shop that sells the QS rulers. I also have the QS rotary cutter. It's great too. Weighted so I don't need as much pressure to cut. Every little bit helps as I get older.

I have 4 of the standard grey and yellow cutting mats, they are adhered to my cutting table with double sided sticky tape to form one large surface. I too wish they would come out with better colors for the mats! I have half yellow side up half grey side up. I wish Quilters Select would make larger mats, I would buy 4 to replace the ones I have. I too am a huge fan and quilters select rulers are simply the best for cutting IMHO and creative grids for specialty rulers.