I need to toss my old wilton mats that I keep buying. JUNK!!!
I have heard vinal is great but have had a hard time finding one. I found a desk protector that is 24 by38 inches. It is as big as I can find. If anyone knows where to get a good one or a larger one that would be such a help. I also saw the aztec silicone mat and I am at a loss as to which mat to get. The price is the same so I really just want the best item for rolling fondant and maybe cutting shapes without cutting the mat.

Sorry so long... any help would be awsome. Thanks so much in advance.

Hi erilay,

You can get the Vinyl at Walmart, Joann's, etc....you buy it by the yard and cut to size....you want the medium weight......

I use my cutters on it....if you don't press the daylights out of it it won't cut it.

Good luck!!!

I cut my silicone mat all up I don't recommend it!

I buy the vinyl by the yard too. It's $2 or $3 a yard and one yard is a huge piece. You want to store it rolled up instead of folded, though, or it will get wrinkles that don't come out. You can use a pastry wheel, metal shape cutter or baker's blade on it without it cutting through, but not an xacto knife or a rotary cutter.

I got my at walmart. brought 2 yard. big mistake it was a lot. i use it this weekend. cut it to the side of my table. i like it. still have a lot left over. I just save it for later use.

I wish I had researched a little more before buying my big silicone mat. It does work well, but it is very heavy, particularly when trying to drape a large sheet of fondant over a cake. In view of this, I would think that the desk protector might be a little too stiff to do the job. Shortly after purchasing the silicone, I went to Walmart and got length of vinyl. The expensive silicone now sits rolled up in its box while the vinyl is my choice every time. I could have saved a lot of $$$.

I vote for the vinyl mat too, I have several, some large, some small depending on what I am rolling out at the time. You cannot beat the price!

I bought a couple of cuts of vinyl at varying lengths after reading a different post about it here a few months back... L.O.V.E IT!!! Not only can I use my cutters on it (gently of course), but it makes clean up a breeze!!!

Thanks for everyones help. I am going with the vinyl. Now I just have to hopw Wallmart still carries it. I heard that they did not havve it anymore but I have not checked myself. I have looked everywhere from Home Depo, Lowes, Target, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, to online, and nothing. If anyone knows another place as a back up that would be great. THanks again.

Hobby Lobby should have it in their fabric area, if not, any JoAnns or Hancocks carry it. HTH

Silly question, but my vinyl has a plastic smell to it-how do you get rid of it? Also, how do you store yours?

I too would like to know how you store it. I tried to roll my but couldn't get it to roll smoothly so it now seems to be permanently wrinkled.

My cake room is a converted bedroom and on the sliding closet door I have installed a series of clips. The "most underneath" ones hold various sizes of vinyl, while higher up, on top I clip several impression mats. It seems to work pretty well for me. As far as a plastic-y odor, I really haven't observed any problem there. As I mentioned earlier, my silicone sits all by its lonesome, rolled up in its box. Yea for vinyl!

Put it in the back window of your car on a hot day or in a tub of really hot water, dry it, then roll it - it will roll fine after that.

I am looking for a large board that won't slip and I can knead my gumpaste on, roll it out and cut on it without cutting the board up. What do you all use for gumpaste work? I do A LOT of exacto stuff! TIA!

I have a solution to the wrinkling....blow dry it! Hehe. Works like a charm. The heat softens the lines and they fall right out. I put mine on the table, blow dryer on, with one hand smoothing and one hand aiming the heat.

Hope that helps someone!

Yeah, the problem with a silicone mat is, you forget that you are only supposed to be using it for rolling and cutter work (not xacto work) and you get on a roll with your work, getting in the zone, and the next thing you know you've sliced your mat to bits. Ask me how I know . I did it once with a cheap one and then yesterday I pulled a 100% boneheaded move and carved the letter C into my Silpat ! Apparently the sound of the little fibers getting sliced one-by-one wasn't enough to clue me in .

I do have the vinyl mat and get good results with it. The plastic smell goes away after you own it for a while and let it air out. I too roll mine around my rolling pin to store, and then I run it under super hot water in the sink to flatten out any creases when I'm ready to use it. I found an inexpensive pint-sized self-healing mat which I now use for xacto work (well that was the plan anyway ), although a wood board (reserved for cake work) would work too I'd think.

Thanks for the feedback!

How do you keep your vinyl from slipping when your rolling stuff out. It drives me crazy

I have a small placemat I use for little projects and this works for me...try lightly moistening the surface you work on with water, then lay the vinyl.

I roll mine out on vinyl, on top of a glass table. It sticks on it's own =)

thanks for all your help. The Wallmart by me does not have a fabric section. I am taking a drive on Wednesday to pick it up in a store 45 minutes away. Thanks again... I can not wait to get it. I was also thinking of buying a cel pad... any advice hear? I currently use the one that came in the Wilton pack.

I bought the silicone mat and use it in my stainless steel table and it doesn't move... but I do need bigger sometimes and one day I decided to roll the fondant right on the stainless steel... (I rubed in with shortening.... barely... slightly... thin thin thin coat) worked like a charm.. no sticking... but I still want to get the vinyl pice....

Question, please...
Why does the thickness have to be medium? why not the heavy one?

Silicone! I recently bought mine and LOVE it!! It will not move when rolling fondant.

I'm lucky to live in an apartment with a very large kitchen that has a very large granite-top center island... seriously, it's almost as big as as full-sized bed! Did I mention that I'm lucky? The vinyl doesn't move after I've let it sit unrolled for a few minutes. I kept the tissue-like paper it came rolled with and roll it back up using that or with regular plain tissue paper and that keeps it from sticking to itself so I can roll it up tight. I store it on end in an uncarpeted closet. I clean mine every time I unroll it with those Clorox kitchen wipes and then a food grade sanitizer spray... and then re-wipe it when putting it away. The plastic smell is all but gone now. I also switch the side I work on each time so that the rollup is always opposite from the one before, it keeps the curl to a minimum to begin with... but the hairdryer suggestion is a good one! I used to have to put my Wilton mats in the freezer (the hairdryer just made it curl more?!?), but then I'd only have about 5 min to get rolling before it would start to curl up again. I threw those suckers away the second I got home with my vinyl!

On the down side, I think there was a thread here about how vinyl leeches chemicals into food that comes into contact with it, but that is still up for debate. I keep the fondant to mat contact to a minimum at all times, once something is cut, on to wax paper it goes and my cakes are all on boards while I'm working... but know that I only do this for fun and I don't sell my cakes. If you're a licensed baker and/or business, I would suggest checking with your health department or whomever to confirm that you can use the vinyl in your establishment.

i was getting annoyed beyond belief with my mat moving around while rolling, so i tried scotch tape. not so good. pain to get off the table and just insnt strong enough. i had an extra roll of sports/medical tape left over from an..ahem...clutzy accident. i taped down the 4 corners of my mat w/it and it worked like a charm. it is tacky and strong enough to hold it in place while rolling, but because it is meant to come off wihtout ripping skin to shreds--it doesnt get gooey stuff stuck to the work surface. and if it does, it's minimal and comes off easily with soap and water.

Wow...that's good info kcassano! I'm going to try that this weekend! Thanks