6 Best Self-Healing Cutting Mats: All You Need To Know
Tired of accidental gouges and scratches on your kitchen counters and dining tables from crafting and sewing? You’re not alone! It might be time to get the best self-healing cutting mats to relieve the problem.
Many crafters and hobbyists feel the same way. But fret not, because the best cutting mat is here to save the day. With this essential tool, you can indulge in sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, and other hobbies without worrying about damaging your work surfaces.
We’ve done the legwork for you, researching dozens of cutting mats and putting 6 leading products to the test to see which ones held up best to various cutting methods.
Whether you use scissors, craft or utility knives, or rotary cutter, there’s a cutting mat designed for every tool. They come in different sizes and colors, feature handy grids and guidelines, and many of them even have self-healing properties.
Keep reading to discover our testing results and get all the info you need to find the perfect cutting mat for your crafting needs!
Here are some top-notch options for self-healing, soft work surface, double-sided cutting mats that can withstand craft and utility knives, rotary blades, and scissors. Plus, you’ll find them in a range of sizes, weights, and colors to suit your crafting preferences.
All the mats below have free shipping from Amazon and are great to use right next to your sewing machine.
Dahle Self Healing Cutting Mat
See prices: Dahle self healing cutting mat
With the Dahle Vantage cutting mat, you get the best of both worlds with its double-sided versatility and top-notch features.
Measuring at 24 inches long by 36 inches wide, this mat is equipped with U.S. customary and metric rulers, grid lines in half-inch increments, and angled cutting guides to make your crafting a breeze.
The thick and durable polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material not only protects your work surfaces but also keeps your cutting blades sharp.
Thanks to its five PVC layers of composite material, the Vantage cutting mat boasts maximum self-healing properties, ensuring that cuts disappear to leave behind a soft and smooth surface.
The white grid lines, screen printed on a blue background, offer excellent visibility and minimal glare.
Plus, you can use both sides of the mat: one for measured cutting along grid lines and the other for freehand work.
This heavy-duty cutting mat is a game-changer for quilting and paper crafts. Our testing revealed that the Dahle Vantage mat withstood repeated cuts from rotary blades and utility knives without dulling the blades, maintaining a smooth surface after multiple uses thanks to it’s composit material.
While it may be a bit heavy for some users to move around, its weight does help prevent shifting during use, making it perfect for a dedicated craft space or work area. Just make sure you keep it out of direct sunlight to protect your mat.
Cutting Mats Feature
– Grid size: 24 inches long by 36 inches wide
– Measuring and cutting guides: Inches, centimeters, and 45- and 60-degree angles
– Self-healing: Yes
Pros
– Surface remains undamaged after repeated use of rotary blades and utility knives
– Offers plenty of room to cut large pieces of fabric and paper
– Stays in place and does not shift during use due to its size and weight
Cons
– May be cumbersome for some to move due to size and weight
Fiskars Cutting Mat
See Prices: Fiskars cutting mat
With the Fiskars double-sided cutting mat, you’ve got a compact and lightweight solution for all your crafting needs. Measuring just 12 inches long by 18 inches wide and weighing a mere 10.4 ounces, this mat is easy to take with you wherever your projects take you, whether it’s in your home, workshop, or studio.
Both sides of this affordable cutting mat are equipped with a highly visible grid featuring lines, inch marks, and angles, making it a breeze to cut shapes at 30-, 45-, and 60-degree angles.
Thanks to its self-healing properties, cut lines vanish from the soft, smooth surface, ensuring that your mat stays in top condition. Plus, using both sides extends the mat’s versatility and lifespan.
We’ve been using Fiskars cutting mats for years, and they’ve never let us down. Affordable, lightweight, and durable, this mat is a real winner. Its standout feature is the light and dark background grid options, which come in handy for working with materials of contrasting colors helping to create easy alignment with your fabric and ensuring precise cuts.
This Fiskars mat is our go-to for small crafting projects at home or on the go. The only drawback is that it’s not suitable for larger projects. However, you can pair this affordable mat with the Dahle Vantage to cover all your cutting needs.
Key features:
Grid size: 12 inches long by 18 inches wide
Measuring and cutting guides: Inches and 30-, 45-, and 60-degree angles
Self-healing: Yes
Pros
– Lightweight and compact size makes it easy to carry and store
– Cut guides and grids are on both sides of the mat including vertical edges
– Light and dark sides make the mat more versatile for cutting light and dark materials ensuring straight cuts
Cons
– Smaller mat not suitable for cutting large items due to its smaller size. Quilters will need a large size cutting mat
Anezus Cutting Mat
See Prices: Anezus Cutting Mat
The Anezus cutting mat is a powerhouse with its five layers of PVC material working together to maintain a smooth surface and prevent damage from craft tools.
The hard PVC core adds stability and durability while protecting your work surfaces from scratches and gouges. Plus, it keeps rotary blades, X-Acto knife blades, and other craft tools sharp with repeated use.
Featuring a green surface with clearly imprinted white grid lines for both centimeter and inch measurements, along with angles, circles, and shapes, this double-sided cutting mat is a versatile and reliable companion for your crafting projects.
It easily stands up to multiple passes with rotary blades and repeated cuts from utility knives, making it a perfect choice for quilters. We especially liked the additional hexagon, circle, and oval shape measurements alongside the standard units of measurement.
The only downside we found with this mat is that its actual size doesn’t match the advertised dimensions. While it’s not a deal breaker, it’s worth noting that it measured slightly smaller than stated.
Product Specs
– Grid size: 11 inches long by 17 inches wide
– Measuring and cutting guides: Inches, centimeters, 45- and 90-degree angles, circles, ovals, triangles, and hexagons
– Self-healing: Yes
Pros
– Heavy-duty yet lightweight, making it easy to transport
– Features shape templates in addition to inch, centimeter, and angle measurements
– Rotary blades effortlessly glide over the surface without leaving noticeable cut lines
Cons
– Advertised size is not accurate
Fiskar’s Cutting Set
Check Prices: Fiskar’s Cutting Set
The Fiskars 3-piece rotary cutting mat set is a game-changer for sewing, combining the iconic 18-inch-by-24-inch self-healing cutting mat with two other must-have essentials: a 6-inch-by-24-inch clear acrylic ruler and a 45-millimeter rotary blade.
The acrylic ruler comes with highlighted seam allowance for strip cutting and a grid for simplified shape cutting, while the 45-millimeter rotary blade features an ergonomic handle, effortlessly cutting through multiple layers of fabric for precise, straight edges.
The 18-inch-by-24-inch mat boasts an easy-to-read measuring grid and the self-healing surface found on all of Fiskars’ cutting mats. But the standout feature of this set is its foldable design, making it a breeze to store and transport.
This set is an affordable way to get your hands on three essential tools for sewing and crafting.
As long-time fans of Fiskars tools, we can vouch for the quality of this three-piece set. The mat held up to repeated cuts from the rotary blade and craft knives, and we appreciated the convenience of its foldable design for storage and portability.
The only downside we found was that the mat is not double-sided. However, the back of the mat features a felt nonskid surface that prevents shifting while cutting.
Product Specs
– Grid size: 18 inches long by 24 inches wide
– Measuring and cutting guides: Inches; centimeters; and 30-, 45-, and 60-degree angles
– Self-healing: Yes
Pros
– Features a felt nonskid backing that helps prevent shifting while cutting
– Lightweight and foldable for easy storage and portability
– Provides 3 essential tools for sewing and crafting at a reasonable price
Cons
– Offers only 1 side for cutting
– Only available in light or dark gray, making it less versatile than dual-sided Fiskars mats
Alvin Cutting Mat
Check Prices: Alvin Cutting Mat
Alvin’s professional-quality cutting mats are a crafting essential, designed for rotary and straight utility blades. With a variety of sizes to choose from, these 3-millimeter thick mats are double-sided for maximum versatility.
The nonglare, self-healing surface ensures durability and precision. Even the smallest Alvin mat, measuring 3.5 inches long by 5.5 inches wide, features an inch grid in white on both sides, with a green background on one side and black on the other.
We’re big fans of mats that offer dual color options, as it makes cutting dark and light materials a breeze. In our testing, this mat easily withstood repeated cuts from rotary and craft blades.
The only downside we found was that the mat only has U.S. customary measurements. While we prefer having metric measurements for more accuracy, we were impressed by the durability of this small mat, which makes it perfect for crafting on the go. Its compact size allows you to pop it in bags and pockets, making it a convenient companion for crafting anywhere.
Product Specs
– Grid size: 3.5 inches long by 5.5 inches wide
– Measuring and cutting guides: Inches
– Self-healing: Yes
Pros
– Features the same 5-ply construction as the larger Alvin self-healing mats
– Small size is easy to put in bags and pockets and is great for crafting on the go
– Double-sided mat in 2 colors, making cutting materials in contrasting colors easier
Cons
– Features only U.S. customary measurements and no metric measurement options
Olfa Cutting Mat
Check Price: Olfa cutting mat
The Olfa continuous grid rotary mat set is a game-changer for seamless cutting, consisting of three 23.33-by-35-inch mats that connect to create a large cutting area.
With four clips tightly holding the mats together, you get a continuous grid featuring numerical measurement in U.S. customary units and angles.
These double-sided mats boast yellow grid lines on one side for precision cutting and solid green on the other for general cutting.
Furthermore, the 1.5-millimeter-thick self-healing surface extends the life of rotary blades, and its large area allows for multiple people to cut at once.
We’ve been long-time users of Olfa mats and have always admired their durability and functionality.
We appreciated the flexibility of this mat, which can be used as one large mat or separated into three smaller mats as needed.
The surface handled multiple cuts with rotary blades and craft knives, and the grid and angle lines were easy to read, making precise measurements a breeze.
The only downside we noticed with this mat was its strong chemical odor upon opening. While Olfa claims that the smell dissipates over time and suggests washing the mat with a mild household cleaner, we found that even doing that the odor for the olfa mat was still present.
We anticipate that the odor will eventually fade, but in the meantime, it’s best to use the mat in a well-ventilated area.
Product Specs
– Grid size: 35 inches long by 70 inches wide
– Measuring and cutting guides: Inches; 30-, 45-, and 60-degree angles
– Self-healing: Yes
Pros
– Can be used as 1 large cutting surface or 3 smaller surfaces
– Yellow contrasting grid lines are easy to read and offer bias/angle measurements
– Durable, thin mats are easy to move despite their large surface area
Cons
– Emits a strong chemical odor that takes a long time to dissipate
Your self-healing cutting mat is made with self-healing material and should last anywhere from 5-10 years when used on a table surface.
The best mat for you depends on your space, and how often you use it. For example, daily use might last less time.
You also want to clean your colored mats and make sure that your sewing tools are sharp when using your mat. This will ensure a long life for your professional cutting mats.
Self-Healing Cutting Mat Resources:
- How to clean a self healing cutting mat
- What is a self-healing cutting mats
- How do Self Healing Cutting Mats Work
