The purpose of this gentle scouring is to remove the fibers that get trapped in the cuts marks preventing the cuts from healing.
How to get grooves out of cutting mat.
When you are in the groove of sewing and just cutting sewing cutting sewing you will find that all of a sudden your rotary cutting mat is full of lint.
I wipe an area several times to pull all the fibers out.
Soak your cutting mat in warm water to rehydrate it so it can get out there and do its thang.
For custom matting of artwork documents and photos blick carries a large selection of mat cutters.
Other cutting board features to consider include a groove around the board for catching juices tapered sides or handles for ease of carrying plus weight and size for both ease of manipulation.
Keep em clean keep em moist keep em flat and no heat.
Soak it in room temp water over night and let air dry flat not in the sun.
Self healing cutting mats need moisture to work their self healing magic.
Once i get grooves in a mat i call it worn out the self healing mats will dry out.
If the mat is too sticky you can use a t shirt to slightly dull the adhesive.
Give your mat a happy home.
It almost feels like using an eraser to clear your mat of debris.
Does your rotary cutter look like this.
This happens all the time to me.
Simple steps to care for your cutting mat and how to clean your mat.
Once the mat is dry you can then remove the tape and your mat should be as good as new.
Used to enhance and add dimension to artwork matboards can be cut with different size openings and layered to create dramatic effects.
It will pull out the lint and fibers from the mat.
After spraying or using a glue stick allow the mat to air dry.
I do this with the new mats about once a year that i have in my stash and haven t used yet.
They need to be hydrated to stay self healing.
I speed up the process a lot becuase i am constantly cutting batting felt or fleece on my mat too.
You can test a small corner of your mat to make sure it is as sticky as you would like.
You can prevent your cutting mat from warping by storing it flat or hanging it on a wall.