A proper pad absorbs traffic impact, prevents slippage, and keeps the rug's foundation from grinding against hard floors. The grinding is what kills rugs — every footstep on an unpadded rug compresses the wool against an unforgiving surface, breaking down the fibers and the foundation knots.
Hard floor pads are firmer, with a non-slip underside and a cushioned top. Over-carpet pads are denser and thinner, designed not to creep on the carpet below. The right pad depends on what is under your rug and how the rug is used.
Stock pads from a big-box store are the wrong size by definition. We cut every pad to your rug's exact dimensions — a quarter-inch shy of each edge so the pad disappears under the rug.