Our favorite pad for handwoven area rugs
Our home may not have quite as many handwoven rugs as the average Finnish home, but it's getting close. There are rag rugs by the front and back doors, in the bathroom, in my studio and in the hallway. Because the rugs are reversible and don't have any sort of grippy backing, when I place a rag rug on a hard surface, I like to put some sort of grippy pad beneath it to help keep the rug in position.
When I first started rug weaving the only sort of low profile rug gripper I could find was the square mesh kind that's available at many big box and home improvement stores. They work ok, but whenever someone came in the front door and wiped their feet the rug and gripper would wad up. Not the aesthetic I'm going for.
I've been on the lookout for an alternative and think I finally found a product that works well, is made in the US and doesn't contain any toxic chemicals. It's the Super Green Natural Rubber Rug Pad from Georgia Rug Pads. (Just FYI, I'm not getting paid to review this product and I do not use affiliate links.)
Here's how the mesh compares to the Super Green.
We've been using the Green Natural Rubber Rug Pads for a few months now and I've been pleased with how they help keep my handwoven rugs in place and how they feel on my bare feet. There hasn't been any sort of bunching up when someone comes in the front door and wipes their feet. In the bathroom, the pad adds a little extra cushioning under the already resilient rag rug as I stand at the sink to brush my teeth.
I would like to mention that the rug pads are not 100% "no slip". Our human testers didn't have any issues. However our feline testers made it clear that even the best of handwoven rug and rug pad is no match for a kitten with the zoomies.
Handwoven for your home
Our Smooth Sailing series of rugs was handwoven with bold stripes of color in a traditional pattern, known as Hollywood, which utilizes wide, point twill bands along each side of the rug and narrow, zig-zags across the center.