warped cutting mat - any solutions?

If no one comes up with any better solutions I would try steam from an iron (with a cloth to protect the mat) and then pressing it flat. Possibly even a light spray may do the trick. The mat may have dried out so allowing it to absorb some moisture then leaving it under pressure may allow it to flatten. Same as straightening wood really.

PS I don't mean pressing it flat with the iron I meant leave a heavy, flat book or piece of wood or something on it after it has been steamed or sprayed.

As AreWeThereYet suggests, get it warm again (by soaking it in a sinkful of hot water?) and then put it under a rug that gets walked on frequently.

Now that sounds like a solution! I don't have any rugs and it's A1 size so won't fit in the sink, but I could try steaming it with an iron and pressing cloth and I have an old set of Encyclopedia Brittanica in the loft that might do the trick...thank you both!

I don’t know what make it is but I got a free replacement as some of them have a life guarantee.

What’s a cutting mat ?

crazyH It's a mat made from some sort of special material that crafts people use for protecting surfaces when cutting things out. The mats are usually 'self healing' so any cuts disappear so the mat doesn't fall apart. They come in different sizes and most have measurements on as well.

Oooh. A1 Size! 😍
Good luck.

Here's an excellent "tutorial" video:

youtu.be/9LI88f0W7eA?si=upEXRIdUCFmAmHy1

Thankyou AWTY 👍

Something is wrong with the mat. Mine is A1 size, I’ve had it for years and it’s in the sun all the time.

Elegran

As AreWeThereYet suggests, get it warm again (by soaking it in a sinkful of hot water?) and then put it under a rug that gets walked on frequently.

I was thinking of pouring very hot water in it and then heavy books as quickly as possible

petra I have three different cutting mats. The oldest is very stiff but the newer two are more bendy.
They are clearly slightly different materials. I used to happily store the 1st of these on end but don't do that with the bendy ones.

There may or may not be a fault with the OP's mat - but clearly lots of people have this issue especially with the largest ones. There are people online making videos about it.

I keep my A1 cutting mat under my bed. I have a wooden bed in spare room as well and it sits on my craft boxes. But it does warp at times so left it over night with load of heavy books on it. Have a small one as well but that never wraps because of the size. Even put my sewing machine on the larger one to protect my wooden table. Means my machine doesn't slip.

You could try heating it up with a hairdryer and flattening it under some weights.

Thank you all for your comments. I knew I would get some good advice from Gransnet! The video was very helpful, NotSpaghetti, I'm going to give that a go, maybe using a damp pressing cloth to add some moisture as well as steam from the iron.

I do think the quality of these mats varies enormously. I had another older mat that never warped even when left in a sunny spot but its self-healing properties were not so good so it had a few deep cuts/chips that I had to avoid when using it. It's now under the bed as I'm keeping it "just in case"

Good luck Alice

Thanks!

Strategic bump for t***l avoidance.

How did it go Alice? Have you saved the mat?

Yes, I hope it's nice and flat now!