I don't do much with fondant. I don't get many request for it and I use to get soooo aggrivated rolling it out only to have it stick to the table, plastic mat, whatever I was using. A friend bought me a piece of vinyl and made a believer out of me!!! I can't wait for the next time someone ask about fondant. I might have to do a dummy cake just to get it out of my system!
I forgot....Walmart and Jo anns sell it on large bolts
do they sell smooth vinyl on bolts? i've only seen leather texture... is it fabric backed???? like the flannel stuff?
and do you use crisco or corn starch on it and how do you wash it? you have me intrigued. 
no it is smooth clear vinyl and pretty heavy weight too
I have only used it with Crisco, and I wash it by laying it out flat on my kitchen table and washing it with warm soapy water on a clean dish cloth and then rinsing well. I let it dry well and roll it up like a roll of wrapping paper
so sort of like wiltons fondant mat... only softer maybe? how big did you get yours????
no there is a definate difference between the vinyl and the Wilton mat. I could not get fondant to roll out on that and peel off to save my life. The vinyl is much easier to get the fondant off of. My piece is 2 foot wide and 3 foot long. I have 2 of them and roll out the fondant between the 2 of them. It comes on a bolt that is about 4 foot wide and you can pick the length.
ewwwwww! kitty is going to Wally's tomorrow!
I use the vinyl for forndant. It is the vinyl that is a table cloth bought at material stores.
You do not have to use crisco or powdersugar when you roll out fondant.
I roll my fondant out half way I flip it - now the bottom will be the top of cake, nice and smooth.
Keep rolling out to the size I need, roll one end a little to hold the fondant, lift lay on cake slowly peel off vinyl and you are done. Now just smooth out.
If have to roll out a big piece of fondant and you want to flip like I did just lay another piece of fondant on top and flip.
When done with fondant lay tissue on top and roll this way the vinly does not stick and will be easy to unroll.
The baby shower cake in my photos in how I did the fondant.
I saw them using blue vinyl on the last cake challenge on the Food Network. Now I know what it is. 
i saw that too... i wondered what it was, where they got it.
I took a class a few months back and the teacher used vinyl bought at the cake shop for $10 (I think it was more actually, but not sure how much). I felt it to get an idea of how thick it was, then went to my local Walmart and bought the same thing in a HUGE piece for $2.19. I have since cut it up into small and large pieces. It has made life a LOT easier and saved me a lot of money too.
The teacher in my class hates the Wilton mat because you have to crisco it first, as it has a tendency to stick. The vinyl never sticks and the benefit of it being clear is you can see your fondant and where you are putting it!
I highly recommend it.
I bought clear vinyl(it's actually greenish, but you can see through it) on the clearance rack/bolt of JoAnn's Fabric, It was near the apolstery material. It was in a long length, I bought a couple yards for 6 bucks total, cut it up and gave some to my classmates at the time.
I recently purchased 1 yard of the clear vinyl at Walmart in the heavy weight. I cut in half and half again then went to Home Depot and purchased clear Masking Tape for $4.99 a roll.
I sandwiched two pieces of vinyl together and taped the top end (now I have a rectangle taped at the top) which gave me two completed mats.
I use it to hold (without the air getting to them) all my gumpaste or fondant flower pieces while I'm working on them. This works much better than that little yellow covered board from the Wilton classes.
Silpats are too small, and too expensive. It's not the printed tablecloths, its the bolts of clear vinyl which comes in 3-4 different weights. You can also find it at fabric stores in bolts. The bolts are usually on racks and hung horizontally. They are very cheap and the beauty of them is that you can make either a one-piece mat or a two piece gumpaste/fondant holder in any size you please.
And, no they don't slip. Because they are plastic/acrylic they grip the table or countertop you are working on.
Jenae: Folder is a great way to describe it. I saw a lady at the Houston Cake Club meeting with it a few months ago and I just had to go home and make one. Except mine was much larger and I'm glad it was. I just made 18 roses and cut out all the petals and put them into the folder and then took my time ruffling the edges and attaching to a center.
Also cut all the leaves and did the same. Because the edges are so heavy they stick to each other so no air can get inside. It's great and you can throw it out and make another without the thought of the cost factor. I have four made and rolled up in an old wrapping paper tube in my closit.
KarenOR - not sure if you can roll between the 'folder' or not. Because the vinyl is so sticky it adhers to itself very well. I'm not sure if the weight of a rolling pin with downward and outward pressure can overcome the sticky vinyl. I'll have to try it, but not tonight - I'm two hours later than where you live. 
ksimp6577, to answer your question - I put nothing on my vinyl when working with fondant, other than the fondant! It makes it a lot easier to clean too because it's not greasy. I love it. For less than $5, it's worth trying. I did NOT get the heaviest/thickest one sold at Walmart, I think I got the next one down. It was the one to me that most closely matched the one sold at the cake shop.
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