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Moderated by Deepika
Posted on: 5/11/06 6:27 AM ET
Well i finally bought a rotary cutter and i dont intent to look back... its great....
However the largest cutting mat i can buy is A1 and this is not large enough to cover my table or the pattern pieces i might need to cut.. so i ask for any suggestions to protect my table...
i thought about buying two mats??
many thanks

However the largest cutting mat i can buy is A1 and this is not large enough to cover my table or the pattern pieces i might need to cut.. so i ask for any suggestions to protect my table...
i thought about buying two mats??
many thanks
Posted on: 5/11/06 7:19 AM ET
In reply to Tipseysmum
Yes, if you can't get a large size mat, buy two (or more) and either butt them together or duct tape them together. If you duct tape them, do it on the back side, so your cutter doesn't shred the tape or get gummed up. You can then fold them when not in use.
HTH
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HTH
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Suo ergo maledicto
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. - Steve Jobs
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. - Steve Jobs
Posted on: 5/11/06 8:33 AM ET
Buying two mats is the best solution. Anything else - cardboard, matboard, plastic, etc. would only damage the blade.
Posted on: 5/11/06 8:46 AM ET
Damage the Blade? It would wreak havoc with your table top, too!
As to buying two and taping them together, there are actually some made with "puzzle" ends, so if you buy two then they interlock. I think that would be much easier to store than the ginormous 40" x 72" one I got years ago!
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As to buying two and taping them together, there are actually some made with "puzzle" ends, so if you buy two then they interlock. I think that would be much easier to store than the ginormous 40" x 72" one I got years ago!
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JanieV
Posted on: 5/11/06 9:43 AM ET
Go to www.atlantathread.com. They have them as large as 48" x 96" I have a 36" x 72" and it works great.
Posted on: 5/11/06 10:30 AM ET
Try putting one of those cardboard mats over your table. They are cheap and extend out to cover the whole table. That's what I do. Then I have the rotary mat on top of that.
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Claire
~~~Sewing is my form of meditation, escape, and entertainment.~~~
~~~ I have no idea how many yards of fabric I've bought this year - I don't want to know. I just want to see my closet fill up with finished clothes I like and can wear. ~~~
~~~Sewing is my form of meditation, escape, and entertainment.~~~
~~~ I have no idea how many yards of fabric I've bought this year - I don't want to know. I just want to see my closet fill up with finished clothes I like and can wear. ~~~
Posted on: 5/11/06 1:20 PM ET
Be careful ordering gigantic mats online. They often have an extra shipping charge.
I duct taped 2 24"X36" mats together, and I find that only occasionally is this not big enough. I have an 8"X24" "mobile mat" that I can slip under any part of the pattern that hangs off the big mats.
Those big folding cardboard mats are a great idea, and you can pin into them for pattern altering.
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I duct taped 2 24"X36" mats together, and I find that only occasionally is this not big enough. I have an 8"X24" "mobile mat" that I can slip under any part of the pattern that hangs off the big mats.
Those big folding cardboard mats are a great idea, and you can pin into them for pattern altering.
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Trinity
I probably have too many sewing machines, but how am I supposed to resist when they're either free by the side of the road or people give them to me?
http://thimblesthreadsandneedles.blogspot.com/
I probably have too many sewing machines, but how am I supposed to resist when they're either free by the side of the road or people give them to me?
http://thimblesthreadsandneedles.blogspot.com/
Posted on: 5/15/06 2:29 PM ET
Your local dealer may be able to get you a large mat too! I also have one that is about 39X74...It is wonderful. I just roll it when I don't need it...which is rare!
Posted on: 5/19/06 10:33 AM ET
When we bought a new dining room table, I bought a cheap 3 x 6 foot folding table at Ace Hardware, on sale during a holiday weekend for $20. That way I can work as I choose on this surface (but I'm not talking about digging sharp blades in it, of course) but with scissors and pins and not be concerned. It also gives the cat a new perch for a few minutes until I move him along.
Just a thought - it doesn't hurt to have a work specific surface for sewing. No matter how careful I am on that new table, I find mystery marks every so often. The table comes in handy for other projects too, and folds down and parks upright in the garage when I'm not using it.
~Linda (redsquid)
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Just a thought - it doesn't hurt to have a work specific surface for sewing. No matter how careful I am on that new table, I find mystery marks every so often. The table comes in handy for other projects too, and folds down and parks upright in the garage when I'm not using it.
~Linda (redsquid)
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redsquid (Linda)
Posted on: 5/19/06 4:51 PM ET
Please don't laugh. While teaching a class at a fabric store I actually had a student turn up with a rotary cutter, a wooden ruler, and a piece of cardboard. It was an interesting day, needless to say. In another class, I had a student tell me with great certainty that she'd discovered why rotary cutter blades had numbers on them -- it was so you could turn to a new place on the blade when it got dull. She'd tightened the screw to the point that the blade wouldn't even turn. (And now, the new chenille cutters are actually intended to work that way!)
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Stephanie Corina Goddard
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