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Sewing Tip: Create A Cork Top Table

By Marian Lewis When you are sewing, rotary cutting mats are great for cutting with a rotary cutter. However, when you are cutting slippery fabrics, it is difficult to keep the fabric where you want it. Here is a sewing tip on how you can make your own non-slip cutting mat. Use cork sheeting as a non-slip cutting mat when you are sewing and cutting silky, slippery fabrics or anytime you are cutting with dressmaker shears. The fabric doesn't move around like it does on the rotary mat. Poke your pins right into the cork to hold your fashion fabric. This is great for tracing patterns, too. Stabbing the pins into the cork holds everything in place. Find cork sheeting at your local hardware store like Home Depot or Lowes. Wider widths are available there. Craft stores usually carry only narrow widths. Have the hardware store cut the cork to the size of your cutting table.

Draw vertical, horizontal and bias lines on it with permanent marker if you like. Glue a tape measure along the ends for quick measuring. Cork sheeting is flexible and lightweight. You can roll it up when not in use. Or, keep it on top of or under your rotary cutting mat so that it is handy when you need it. It will keep the rotary mat from slipping on the table if you keep the cork under the rotary mat when not in use. Another idea is to use cork tiles to create a cork top table.
©2009 Marian Lewis - All Rights Reserved 1st Step To Sewing Success Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor and the creator of an amazing new fitting method for hard-to-fit sewing folks. In her ebook, "Common Sense Fitting Method For Hard-To-Fit Sewing Folks Who Want ..., find out step-by-step WHAT you really need and HOW to apply that to a commercial sewing pattern. It just makes sense! Finally, you can sew great fitting pants and end your fitting frustration. Marian is also the author of other eBooks related to sewing including, "Sew A Tee Pee And Accessories For Your Tribe Of Kids" and "Classy Designer Straight Skirt" where she teaches basic and advanced sewing techniques. Discover If you enjoy sewing, visit this site. It just makes sense!

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Comment by Athena's Grove on June 19, 2009 at 5:11am: Ohhhh, I LOVE this idea! I have often thought it would be easier if I could just stab pins in....GREAT tip! Thanks for posting it.

Comment by Jill Dewar on June 18, 2009 at 10:45pm: what a great idea - I am going to Home Depot tomorrow to get "corked"

Comment by Samantha Summerton on June 18, 2009 at 9:20pm: Fabulous idea! I have limited cutting space at home and the fact that it can be rolled up is fantastic.
Many thanks!
Samantha
Perth Australia

Comment by ST on June 18, 2009 at 2:10pm: Love this idea. I recently cut out slippery fabric and was so frustrated at the end of the cutting session. I'm going to Home Depot this weekend just to find the cork sheeting.

Comment by Irene on June 18, 2009 at 11:55am: these are great! I share your ideas with my ASG group and they love them. Most of them are older and don't use a computer, so this is a real treat for them.

Comment by Adva Price on June 18, 2009 at 10:17am: i love this idea, and i love cork.

Comment by Warna on June 18, 2009 at 8:09am: Thank you for all the sewing tips that you post. I delete a lot of things that come into my inbox but I save every single one of yours...they are great.....I thought I knew a lot about sewing.....I have a lot to learn!! thank you for posting.