BAG SMITH Block N Roll Flexible Blocking Mat, 38 by 55-Inch

This item was recommended by a friend who works in a local yarn shop. It arrived promptly on time for me to block a rather large item that I had knit as a Christmas gift. I was able to pin my project to the mat using regular and quilting pins, wet my item and also able to iron right on the mats teflon surface. The fact that the mat is blocked off into grids is extremely helpful to line up the bottom of your work. As it can be rolled up, it doesn't take up much space to store. This is a must have item for any serious knitters who enjoys knitting but not blocking.

Pros:Large work area for laying out many pieces at once or tacking down one big item.Rolls up for easy take-along or storage.Has ties to keep the mat securely rolled up.Evenly laid out grid with thick lines which are easy to see.Cons:All four corners of the mat are rounded, not square, which lessens the work area.The bias tape which edges the entire mat overlaps the grid randomly, lessening the work area.The mat is large, so finding a surface to use it on is difficult.The grid is metric which translates each square to approximately .8125" or 8 squares equals 6 1/2".The foam backing is too thin and too insubstantial a support for pins.In sum, an okay item as long as you purchase enough foam for a base and have a big table or out-of-the-way floor area on which to work.

I purchased this to block some knitting and it works just fine for that. I put it on my bed so I wouldn't scratch a wooden table surface with the pins holding down the fabric. I like that it rolls up for convenient storage.

A very thin mat, doesn't have much resistance, so actually not that great for blocking. Second issue, the needles go right through. It needs a second tough layer underneath to be better functional. The surface of the block n roll is nice yes, but a checkered tablecloth with a though mattras might work better for blocking

Rolls up to compact size. takes up very little room. Good weight and sturdiness yet lightweight and easy to handle. A+.

The description was accurate and the item shipped in good condition as promised. It's a piece of foam rubber with a teflon coating, but it's not waterproof so you still need to put it on something else while your piece is drying. There's nothing wrong with this, it's really a question of whether you're getting value for the money, and I think you could easily create this yourself for a fraction of the cost. On the positive side, it rolls up and has handy ties to keep it secure, so it's easy to store.

It is exactly as described. No surprises :)

I'm disappointed! #1: there an area near the center of the mat which is about 3" wide which is NOT laminated to the underlying foam. #2: The grid is not square. While 1 square does seem to measure very close to 2cm, 10 squares measure 22.3cm in one direction and 22.6cm in the other. This may not seem like a huge problem, and I might trust it to measure my 8.5" afghan squares, but I don't think I would use it to measure pieces for a sweater!