mgirldot

I purchased a cutting mat on Joann.com its an omnigrid I want to use it with the fiskars and gingher rotary cutters I purchased but it doesn't say self healing? Is there a difference between Forgiving surface and self healing? I have been sewing for about 2 years now and finally brought a mat and rotary cutter and of course I had to mess up!

LyndaOH

You didn't mess up at all! I love my Omnigrid mats and they are just fine.

nativetexan

look at their site and see what they say about their own mats. I have Olfa mats and love them. they say to soak them in the bathtub (flat surface) and they will be like new. I haven't done that but have had mine for about 12 to 15 years.

Deborahlees

my Omnigrid mats are my absolute favorate....other brands have come and gone, like Fiskers etc, but my Omnis are still here, even after I tried to clean them once and wiped off some of my grids.... I now use only a magic eraser....

rush88888

i think "self-healing" has always been a misnomer. my "self-healing" mats do deteriorate with use. my idea is to just turn them over for extra use, although the grid lines and ruler won't be there. i also think that all mats are forgiving, and they protect surfaces for a long time - just not "self-healing". AND...you didn't mess up! i think they finally realized that "self-healing" is not exactly what they do.

mgirldot

Thanks everyone also I don't know where I got this idea ,but my mat is kind of stiff and hard not well spongy-ish is it supposed to be? This is why I thought I brought the wrong one. I just received it this morning from Joann.

AliKat

You may want to use one side for doing the cutting of any curves and the grid side for straight cuts only.

ali

quiltstringz

your mat should be hard and not spongy.

mgirldot

Ok, thanks everyone so much!