Martelli mats, rulers and more
 

Just wanted to let you know that Martelli is having a 40 percent off 72 hour sale from June 6-8. Has anybody bought their mats? If so, do you prefer their mats over Olfa or other brands?

I have a Martelli mat, and I love it. It's much better than my previous Olfa mat - totally worth the investment.

The Martelli mat is much thicker than Olfa, Omnigrid, Fiskars, or other brands I have found in stores. They claim it doesn't warp even if you leave it in the car... I haven't tested that, but I believe it because of the weight.

My mat is yellow on one side, and mauve on the other. This provides nice contrast with fabric, making it easier to line up cuts. I use the yellow side most of the time, except when I'm cutting yellow fabric.

It also really is self-healing; the material it's made of is does reattach itself across cuts. They show this in one of their videos, but I didn't believe it until I saw it myself. I also find that my rotary cutter blades last longer now.

All in all, my Martelli mat is the best mat I've ever encountered. My one complaint about it is that I don't think the lines are as accurate as they claim. I just laid my 24" Olfa ruler on it. One end was aligned perfectly with the mat markings, and the other end was off by a small amount. 1/64", maybe? You can see it in the picture. It's not enough to cause problems If I sometimes measure with the mat and sometimes the ruler, except when I'm cutting really long borders, but it does bother me.
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I have several Martelli mats and the rotating mat set. They are nice but I recently bought a Quilter's Select mat and it's better. Best mat I have ever used.

I have the Martelli mats and like them a lot. But like onebyone, I bought a Quilter's Select mat and that changed my mine on the best mats. I won't go back to other brands of mats now.

I love my Olfa too much to switch

I think you'd be surprised at the high quality of the Quilter's Select. I bought a small mat and then went back and bought the largest one. Same with the rulers. I bought one to try and now have all of them. No other quilting product has impressed me this much before.

I have also become a fan of Quilters Select!

I am not a big fan of my Martelli mat. I have a hard time seeing the lines, I think it is because of the color; and especially do not like the big square up section on the mat. Wish I had never bought mine.

I like my Martelli mat and it works well with my CG rulers.

I totally agree about the Quilters Select mat. Alex Anderson was demonstrating her new rotary cutter at Paducah, and I bought it, a mat, and the 6 x 12 ruler. Best purchase ever! I was so frustrated with my ruler slipping, but with this combination, it hasn't slipped a single time. Watch her videos where she explains how the mat is slightly sticky (but not that you'd notice) so the fabric doesn't budge. http://quiltersselect.com/products/

BTW, I thought the cutter may be too heavy, but its extra heft means you don't have to push as hard, and with its magnet closure, it's so easy to change blades.