Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is not my first set of blocking mats, and they were more expensive than the others by a good bit. There are several reasons why I forked over a significant amount of money for new mats when I already had others. 1) These don't stink up the house or my project. You can read reviews about the smell of several of the less expensive mats, but here is one thing you don't want to find out in person: Hair fibers (wool, alpaca, yak, camel hair, etc.) absorb and retain odors to a much greater degree than other fibers, and you are much more limited in what you can do about it afterward. 2) THE GRIDLINES MATCH UP! In the first set of mats I bought (another brand), the gridlines do not match up after they are snapped together. I just got through blocking a severely warped kerchief. It was not warped from poor technique, but because every single feature of that crochet pattern resulted in warping. It was crocheted on the bias, with alternate rows being slipstitches only, so that all structure-building rows were worked the same direction. Normally, when you work back and forth, the slight slant in one direction in one row is canceled by the slant in the opposite direction of the next row. It was essentiall that I be able line up rows with lines on both sides of the work. Without that feature, it would have been far more difficult to block correctly. If the lines don't match up from block to block, you can use lines only for items less than 12 inches at the widest point. No other mat I looked at had this feature, and more than a few reviewers were truly annoyed by this. 3) The ink does not come off when you steam the item. 4) These are thicker. I did not consider that a factor in my decision, but afterward, I realized that it is a worthwhile feature. The warped kerchief had to be stretched hard. (Use blocking wires to prevent a spiderweb effect when blocking hard.) If the mats had not been thick, the T-pins would not have been secure enough to withstand the strain. 5) They come with zippered vinyl storage cases. Not having them would not be a deal breaker, but they are nice to have. 6) They come with T-pins and tape measure included. Again, not a deal breaker, but it was nice to have to them in a little box right there in the vinyl storage bag. There are enough pins for blocking with wires, but not likely enough if you are pinning out an item directly. And the kerchief? It blocked beautifully, with gorgeous drape. (I had watched a finishing class which showed how fluidly the blocked vest front draped in comparison with the unblocked front, but seeing how incredible the change was in person was an eye-opener.) Because I started with bags, dishcloths, and similar items, blocking was not a priority until now.