This may seem to be a dumb question to all of you who love your rotary mats, but isn't it just as easy to turn a small mat and save the money to spend on more fabric? I am really open minded but that is why I haven't bought one. Do they really make it that much easier?

Having arthritis - it is much easier on me to have a revolving mat. The cost was terrific - it was on sale plus 60% off - cheaper than a square mat. There are times the fabric shifts and the fabric is no longer flat when you pick it up to turn for squaring, so you are more apt to have errors. A small mat to turn would work if you have one but except for my revolving mat, all of my mats are rectangular and large.

I bought the 17" one and on my cluttered cutting table it is too large to rotate. If I had to do it over I would purchase a smaller on.

Sharon

I have one and it's not all that it is cracked up to be! Just my opinion.

I have the Olfa and do not like it. It doesn't seem to turn very easily.

If you have an old piece of plywood around, a new quality lazy susan could be screwed to the bottom at a considerable savings over the fancy ones.
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As a sometimes wood worker, I would suggest that you use hardboard,
since sometimes raw plywood bleeds. Not all, but any thing that ruins the
look of your carefully sewn quilts, etc, will drive you to madness!!!

Or, carefully sand the plywood down, several times till it is smooth enough
so that even a piece of panty hose dragged over it will not catch.

I wouldn't paint or stain it, that might open another can of worms!!

Thanks Ramona for the voice of experience on the wood working! I've been thinking as I read that I want my son to make one for me....will be sure to have him read your posting.

Call the Fiskar's company and explain the problem. They are really good about standing behind their products.

call the company as they might of had a defective batch

I have the Brookly revolver, I have loved using it. This was before it had the pressing mat on the reverse side. Can't afford a new one, and the top is so old it is not any good any more.:(

I am new here, I Am a grandma that quilts mostly for the grands, .
Right now I am hand quilting an OH State U quilt for my grandson.

I had never heard of a rotating cutting mat.
I will surely look into getting one. :thumbup:

I found out something new reading this thread, can't wait to read the rest. :-)

My wife purchased a 10" turntable at a 99 cent store and uses a small 5X8 mat on it. It works great for small pcs.

Ken

I made mine with a lazy susan and glued my cutting mat onto it,just make sure it's centered

I have the 14" Fiskars mat and I like it alot. It seems to make cutting smaller blocks or pieces go somewhat faster. It's a good investment if you can get it on sale.

Actually, the cutting mat covers any raw wood, and since I'm not cutting anything larger than the mat, it's not an issue. I live in a horribly humid climate, and much prefer plywood over sawdust and chipboard products.

I have a 12" Olfa that I asked for and got for Christmas the first year they came out. It probably was kind of pricey, but it was a gift from DH. I love it and have wondered how something so simple could have taken "them" so long to invent. I realize now that any person with a little knowledge of simple tools could easily make one. Of course that would not be me. Once at an NQA show in Columbus I saw a man demonstrating his, slightly different, one. It was wonderful, but extremely expensive. Anyhow, I'm glad I have mine, I use it quite often, and keep it right beside my machine along with my small rotary cutter. It's a great combo of tools for a "little quilt" maker. It's also good to use when squaring up your smaller than huge blocks. I vote that you get one. You'll find it to be very handy, in my opinion.

I came up with an idea but mine is for ironing. You could also cut up a sm. cutting mat to use as well. I went to Home Depot & got an 18 inch circle of wood (already cut & ready for you). I also found a metal lazy susan there. We screwed the susan to the bottom of the wood. Then I covered it with Insulbrite & fabric. You could adapt it to a cutting board by cutting a cutting mat the size of the circle then glue it down. Very handy item.

Pat

I forgot one step on my rotating board. We found we needed to add a 1/4" pc. of wood or something firm to bring your board up off the table a bit making it easier to rotate. I use mine a lot for fusible applique work.

Pat

I love mine and got it on sale a few years ago. I have it right by my machine to trim and square up smaller blocks.

Hay that is a really good idea, sense I can never find cheap fabric at good will maybe I can find one of those, my mat has got to be about 21 years old, still works good. Penny

that is such a great idea. thank you for sharing. Penny

I just have a 12x18 Olfa cutting mat that I use as my cutting mat on my cutting table. Because it is relatively small, I just rotate it on my table.

I also have a large Olfa cutting mat that is about the same size as the table top (that I *LOVE*).

I originally bought the 12x18 Olfa cutting mat to take to classes, and had it in my stack of stuff that I usually take to classes until I realized one day, when I was wishing I had a rotating cutting mat, that if I had a circular revolving mat, it couldn't hold as large of block as a square or rectangular one, so I pulled the 12 x 18 cutting mat out and have been using that, just rotating it as I need.

Brenda
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Hey, that is a good idea .. very resourceful!! Thanks for the tip!

I have the one by Fiskars small one as well.

I have the smaller one and love it. It comes in so handy. Love it for fussy cuts!
I recently was very lucky and won the larger one at a guild meeting. I was thrilled as I had wanted one but didn't want to spend the big bucks for it. I haven't used it yet so can't say which one I like best yet. But even the smaller one is worth the money.

Your idea works just fine - and leaves more money for your stash.

I have 2 of the big mats, 36 by 24 or something like that.
One is worn out, I could use the corner for the turn table.
and a wooden cutting board, never used, (10 by 14)
I could paste a piece of the mat on that and lay it on top of a lazy susan. Worth a try anyhow.

As for cheap fabric, I seem to find lots at gr sales. Especially where the senior people live, cause they are getting rid of their stash, for whatever reason.

No need to paste a piece of your old cutting mat to your wooden cutting board. Just cut up your old mat and rotate IT, on your larger mat.

I have a 12x18 Olfa mat and just rotate it... no need (that I see) to have a "lazy susan" effect... just rotate a small cutting mat.

I got my Olfa 17 x 17 with a coupon. It's come in handy when I cut lots of scraps or tumblers.

hay guess what! I went to salvation army this morning and found one of those spin thingeys for .99 cents. yah for me. just had to share. Penny

I have a Martelli quilter's edition mat that I purchased at a quilt show. It has the 1" squares marked on it as well as the blocks going from 2" to 12". Being left-handed, many times I've followed directions for righty's and had to walk around the cutting table. This way I just turn the wheel and cut away. I've really loved mine. I also have a Brooklyn smaller size, but much prefer my Martelli since it is marked. They both work well for a lefty, however.

It IS expensive and really handy. I like it for going to class when room is usually cramped and it is so nice to have. I seem to use the larger size more, but it was cheaper to buy the two together than separately - so I feel for that marketing strategy hook, line and sinker :)

My father made 24" rotary cutting mats for my mother and me. I almost hate to use the mat because he put so much time and love into the project, but he keeps telling me that the mat can be replaced.

I attached pictures just to share how wonderful he is. There is a handle to carry it, and mom made protective bags so we could take them to quilting retreats!

What a gift of love your dad gave you, LB, as you make gifts of love for others. What a truly special bond for the three of you.

I just bought a Fiskars 14" x 14" at Walmart. They are closing down the fabric dept so I grabbed it for $9.00. Now I wished I had grabbed the other one too. I don't know what I'd do with both but it was a SALE. I find something on sale I go crazy.

He IS wonderful! How lucky you are to have a dad like him.
I'm amazed by that cutting board. First of all it looks very large, and second it's on it's own little feet it seems. What do you place it on, or is it on a stand of some kind? Wow, I love it!

that is so wonderful, what a gift of love, my dad before he past away built me a work station for all my crafty stuff, I lost my house and everything else, but I have that work station in the shead here. Penny

I made my own. I had a mat with a bad tear in one corner. I also had a large plastic lazy susan. I traced the upside down lazy susan to size the mat into a circle. Then I just glued the mat to the top of the lazy susan. Works great.

My husband built a workspace in the spare room closet with a dresser big enough to put the mat on. I will clean it up this weekend and post a picture!!

My DH built a sewing space in the spare room closet with a dresser big enough for the mat and a large ruler holder. (I will clean it up this weekend and take a picture!)

Great idea!!!