Tool Time with Melissa and her Rotating Cutting Mat

Hello fellow Sewing Enthusiasts!!!  It's me, Melissa from Happy Quilting.  Today I am going to share with you one of my new favorite tools.  I just got this about 2 months ago and I am wondering how I ever lived without it :)

How many of you have found yourself cutting like this.  You know, when you don't want to lift up your fabric but you have already cut 2 sides and need to cut the other 2, so you do some yoga and contort your back so you can get your right hand up high enough to cut along the wrong side of the ruler and toward yourself.  I know I used to do it all the time.

But not anymore.   Enter my new Rotating Cutting Mat.  Yup, it looks just like a normal cutting mat right.

Wrong.   It is placed on a swivel base so it can spin a full 360 degrees. Oh my goodness, I am so in love with this mat.  It is saving me some major ice pack time on my back and my cuts are a whole lot more accurate.  It is great for so many jobs.

I love using it when I am fussy cutting.

Just give it a spin.  No need to pick up your fabric and re-align it :)

My favorite time to use it is when I am cutting out a large stack of scraps.  I don't like cutting them individually because it takes to much time.  So I just make a stack and whack the first 2 sides.

Then spin my mat, align my ruler, and whack the second two sides.  It is so fast and so easy, and most importantly so accurate.

It also really comes in handy when you are trimming blocks.  HST's are so wonderful to trim on a rotating mat.  I also love it when trimming down improv pieces.  It really just blows me away how much time I save not constantly picking up fabric and moving it or trying to do that crazy yoga stretch :)

The mats can be found in 12 1/2" to 16 1/2" square so it even works great for squaring up entire blocks.  just cut 2 sides.

Swivel your mat, and cut the remaining 2 sides.

And you end up with one adorable improv block  (That I am making for a Bee member) and a not so sore back :)

This mat also has the added benefit of being super travel size.  It fits perfect inside the front sleeve of my sewing machine cover.  Easy and portable, there is a winning combination :)

So if you find yourself doing a lot of trimming, smaller piecing, improv, or basically any cutting beyond a straight Width of Fabric cut, you might find that a rotating cutting mat would highly come in handy :)

Thanks for your time and for Madam Samm for having me.  I am so glad I got to share with you one of my favorite tools :)