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Sizing Guides · 4 min read

How to Measure a Rug for a Custom-Cut Pad

The measuring convention for ordering custom-cut rug pads, including handmade and irregular rugs.

Short answer

How to Measure a Rug for a Custom-Cut Pad

Measure the rug flat, edge to edge at its widest and longest points, excluding fringe, and take each measurement in two places. Order the pad at the larger figure. The pad is cut about an inch inside the rug on each side, and perforations handle the rest.

Where do you measure from?

Measure to the woven edge, not to the end of the fringe. A pad that runs under fringe lifts it off the floor and makes a hand-knotted rug look propped.

Why measure in two places?

Handmade rugs are not rectangles. A 9x12 can measure 8'11" at one end and 9'2" at the other, and ordering to the smaller figure guarantees a visible pad gap on one side.

Order at the larger measurement in each direction and remove a perforation strip on site if the narrow end needs it.

How do you handle runners, rounds, and irregular shapes?

Runners are measured the same way, and the length is where custom cutting pays off, since hall runs are almost never a stock length.

Round and oval rugs are cut to shape. Free-form and irregular outlines are handled as a custom request rather than approximated with a rectangle.

Published 2026-02-03. Last updated 2026-08-01.

Answers

Related questions

How should I measure a rug for a pad?

Measure the rug flat, edge to edge, at its widest and longest points, excluding fringe. Take both measurements in two places, since handmade rugs are rarely perfectly rectangular, and order at the larger figure.

Should fringe be included in the pad measurement?

No. Measure to the woven edge and exclude fringe. A pad that extends under fringe lifts it off the floor and makes it look propped rather than laid.

My handmade rug is not perfectly square. What do I order?

Order at the largest measurement in each direction, then use the perforations on site to bring the short side in. This is the exact scenario the 2-inch increments were designed for.

Do you make rug pads for round and oval rugs?

Yes. Round, oval, and other non-rectangular rugs are cut to shape. Free-form and irregular shapes are handled as a custom request so the pad matches the rug's actual outline rather than approximating it.

Do you make custom runner pads?

Yes, and runners are where custom cutting matters most. Hall runners are almost never a stock length, so a cut-to-order pad perforated along the length lets you match the run exactly.

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