Question about using glass as cutting board?
 

My granddaughter is new to sewing and quilting. She can't afford to go out and buy an expensive(to her) cutting mat. I was going to suggest that she go somewhere and find a cheap piece of glass such as an old window or picture frame glass....put masking tape all around the perimeter of the glass. Do you think this would work as an alternative to a plastic mat? What do you think?

The glass would dull the rotary cutting blade. She would spend more money replacing blades than she would for a cutting mat.

I'm not sure why, but this sounds like a really bad idea to me..

Sounds actually dangerous to me. Rotary cutter could slip and slide on the glass. A rotary cutter is designed to be used with an appropriate mat. If it were me, I would go to Amazon and pay for a mat to be sent to granddaughter.

Sorry, but a piece of glass wouldn't work. As Judy said, it would dull her rotary blades. Maybe she could find someone with a used one that they would sell it? Maybe post on the looking for board and see if anyone has a used one to sell.

I would think glass would be kind of slippery. I don't think I would recommend that. Could she maybe get a coupon for some place like JoAnns and get a cutting mat for 40% or 50% off with a coupon?

Or maybe try a modern (forgiving) way of quilting and go wonky with scissors for awhile and see how that works out for her.

Cutting mats are NOT "just" plastic mats!! The better ones, the proper ones, are of a special substance that "closes" after the slight indentations of the cuts are made. One "best brand" calls theirs a "space age" self-healing material.

Gosh, the safety issues of using glass surfaces for rotary cutting just scare me to pieces!!
Would you cut up your meat with a razor blade? Would you cut your daughter's hair with a rotary cutter? There is a reason there are particular tools for a particular purpose! Please encourage her to use the "real thing".

Jan in VA

OK....bad idea:eek:...I'll have to come up with plan B. I didn't think about the slippage factor. I have already sent her several sewing notions, etc. plus a new Brother sewing machine. I was trying to think of another alternative. I told her to watch Craigslist in her area.

There are cheap cutting mats out there. Of course you get what you pay for but they work for a while. I got a large one at walmart for less than half of my other ones.

With all the $$ you saved her with your gifting, perhaps she could manage the cutting mat on her own IF she is really serious about wanting to do it.

I got a large mat at Walmart for a very low price. It isn't as good as the green self healing mats, but it will do in a pinch. Mats at JoAnn's with a coupon are pretty inexpensive, and She should go for either choice. Glass is a very poor substitution, and could cause a very bad injury. Glad you asked for advise and prevented a bad outcome.
Sue

walmart usually sells mats real cheap. I got mine for 14 dollars at walmart, she just needs to shop around

Me too, a cheaper than a quilters cutting board can be one for card making, they are cheaper but not as good but usable, and the other really good option is a kitchen cutting board, and you can get them cheap from so many shops and in nice bright colours as well.

I've been using my Walmart mat for six or seven years now. It has served me well and was not expensive, probably cheaper than the glass she was considering. Haven't checked prices recently as this one is still good.

The glass would probably as much as a mat on sale. Get the mat, it will be worth it in the long run. The glass is dangerous and will dull the blades which are expensive to replace.

Thanks for all the quick replies ...I'll tell her check Joann's....she says she has one down the street from her apartment.

Walmart online has a 13 x 13 mat for $8. It would be big enough to cut strips from fat quarters.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/EK-Success...ndingMethod=rr

she could start out the old fashioned way, rulers, pencils and scissors.

I too was going to suggest scissors until she can afford a mat. It's what my mom still uses!

Maybe she can get one at Joann's when they have a 40 or 50% coupon?

Glass is used as a cutting surface for paper, but you use a fixed blade and drag it against the glass. A rotary blade needs a surface that will accept the blade a tiny bit.

Why not go onto Joann's online or Walmart online and pick out and pay for one? Have it delivered to the nearest store to her home as a gift? Walmart will deliver to any store at no additional cost...not sure about Joann's, but its worth checking. Safety first always -- its a good idea for her to start out in that mindset.

JoAnn's often has 50% off sales on their rotary cutting supplies. That is how I purchased my extra large cutting mat. Or use a JoAnn's coupon (40-50%) when the mats aren't on sale.

I went to a quilt show hosted by a local quilt guild. I bought a big used olfa mat for $3.00.

I got a nice mat for cheap at hobby lobby in the drawing/engineering department. Good mat.

You can buy cutting mats reasonably priced with a 40% off coupon at Joanns and frequently they will be on sale and there will also be a additional % off coupon. Also you really do not need a "giant" mat. I have a 12x18 mat wich works just fine and was about $12 after coupon at Joanns. It ia possible to get away with even a smaller mat. A good rule is to buy the biggest mat you can afford.
Using glass- Bad idea!!!!!

If she cannot afford a cutting mat, tell her to use a good pair of scissors. You do not want her going to the hospital for cut fingers or hands.

I've not tried it, but she may have a wooden cutting board in the kitchen. Not a long term use but in a pinch.

I bought mine at Walmart and have used it for two years now and it still works fine. I paid eleven dollars for it when i purchased it

maybe Grandma or her Mom can get her one for Easter instead of candy

use pencil and sissors and save for cutting mat --do not use glass for all the reasons mentioned most of all you only get 2 hands there are no spares

When I first started a friend gave me a piece of plexiglass to use with my rotary cutter - it did dull the blades and I was concerned about tiny slivers of glass, so found a kit that included a new rotary cutter and a mat. They go on sale from time to time. At the time it was a store called, Fedco, they had all sorts of quilting supplies.

Newark sewing supply has cutter, mat and ruler for $18. It may not be the best but, I have found my daughter takes better care of things if she puts the effort out to buy it herself.

The fact is, quilting is not an inexpensive hobby. Yes, you can keep certain costs (fabric, patterns, thread, etc.) under control, but the basic tools are necessary. If she can't afford to purchase a mat, then she needs to wait until she can. Rotary cutters and self healing mats are relatively new tools for quilting. If she really wants to get started without those, then I would suggest she use good old fashioned scissors to cut her pieces.

Glass is great if you need a palette for acrylics or if you're cutting out a paper pattern with an exacto knife but a rotary cutter is just too dangerous to take a chance of having it slip and give her a very serious injury. Just think of how many people cut themselves using a rotary mat and imagine how much worse it could have been if the cutter had been sliding on glass. I wouldn't even take a guess how fast it would dull the blade.

Why would you do that? You have to put pressure on the cutting mat to cut the fabric, when you put pressure on the glass, what will happen? The glass will break and their will be slivers everywhere. So dangerous. Don't use glass for a cutting mat!!!! If your granddaughter can't afford a cutting mat, why don't you buy her one as a early Christmas gift or a birthday gift? I'm sure she will appreciate it. There are places where we quilters can cut corners, but using a sheet of glass as a cutting surface is NOT one of them.

Many LQS have old mats that are usually cut down the middle when they have to replace them. Perhaps she could use one of their discarded "halfs".

Totally agree with this. Think the fabric would slide all over the place, and she could end up getting a serious cut.
Pat

This sounds like the perfect situation for a 50% off coupon, maybe for one of the smaller mats to start with. I used scissors and templates before I bought my first mat. Granted that was eons ago but I would be worried about safety with the glass.

Birthday or Christmas gift card at her Joann's.