Most quilting questions we get are really one question: is this mat big enough? So here is the plain answer, size by size, and the one rule that saves people from buying twice.
Start with the fabric, not the table
Quilting cotton comes off the bolt around 110 cm wide. Folded once, selvedge to selvedge, that is a piece about 55 cm deep. Whatever mat you choose has to take that fold comfortably, with the ruler sitting on the mat and not hanging off the edge. That is the measurement that matters. The table is second.
A1, 90 x 60 cm: the quilting mat
This is the size most quilters end up with, and it is the one we would suggest if you do not want to think about it. Sixty centimetres deep takes a folded width of fabric with room to square the edge. Ninety centimetres wide gives you long strips without shifting the fabric halfway through a cut, which is where wobbles come from. In the United States and Canada this is the 36 x 24 inch mat.
A2, 60 x 45 cm: blocks, strips and smaller tables
If you mostly cut blocks, half square triangles and strips from fat quarters, A2 does the job and fits a normal desk or a kitchen table with room to spare. You will fold a full width twice rather than once for long cuts. Plenty of people work happily at this size for years. It is the 24 x 18 inch mat in North America.
A0, 120 x 90 cm: a table you do not clear
If you have a dedicated cutting table, A0 covers it and you stop thinking about the mat altogether. A full width of fabric lies flat unfolded across the short side. It is heavy and it stays where you put it. It is not the right choice for a dining table that has to be cleared for dinner. The North American equivalent is 48 x 36 inches.
A3 and A4: classes, travel and the drawer
A3 (44 x 30 cm) is what you take to a class or a retreat. A4 (30 x 22 cm) is for trimming, paper piecing and card work, and it lives in a drawer. Neither is a first quilting mat, but most quilters end up owning one alongside their main mat.
150 x 100 and 200 x 100: studio and workbench
These two exist for people who cut all day: pattern cutters, small workshops, anyone with a bench. If you are asking whether you need one, you probably do not yet.
The rule that stops most returns
If you are between two sizes, take the larger one. In several years of selling mats we have never had a message from someone wishing theirs were smaller. We have had a great many from people who wished they had gone one size up.
Does the colour matter?
No. Green, blue, pink, black and grey are the same mat: five layers, 3 mm thick, self healing, with the same metric grid on both sides. The only practical point is contrast. A darker mat makes pale fabric easier to see and a lighter mat does the same for dark fabric. Pick the one you would rather look at. We would rather tell you that than invent a reason.
What to buy
- Elan cutting mat, A1 if you cut full widths of fabric. Any colour.
- Elan cutting mat, A2 if you mostly cut blocks and strips.
- A 45 mm rotary cutter and a patchwork ruler to go with it. A sharp rotary blade is what makes a self healing mat work as it should.
Still not sure? The size guide has every size drawn to scale against a desk and a dining table, and a printable version you can lay on your own table.
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