I can't remember where I purchased mine, but it was on sale. Just remember there are at least 2 widths.....be sure to get the 1/4" thick one. I'd also suggest you get one as big as you can afford. I purchased the 17" X 24 and I it. Wished I'd gotten bigger! Love it!

Yes! My guys will not leave it alone, ha! They love the smell of the wool. I just need to use a sticky-roller lint remover before I start.

Ha! I do the same!!!

The horse pads have lanolin left in the wool and that will cause a build up on your iron. You can use a ironing cloth to cover it but then defeat the purpose of the mat.

I'm sorry I did not know that before I posted. Please forgive my post above.

Thanks for starting this discussion grma33! - I will be following all the suggestions.

I have heard good things about the benefits of the wool mats and am thinking that this may be a 'must have' for me. I have been wanting one for awhile and have been watching the January sales.

There are so many different brand names out there and it's difficult to figure out which to buy. I also had a shop owner tell me not to use steam?? - I would definitely be using steam to set/flatten the seams along with my clapper. She said that steam makes the mat smell funny and that it eventually separates the fibers of the mat so that it may fall apart?? I understand that wet wool can give off a slight odour and needs to be dried when damp but I really questioned her about the quality of her mats when she told me this. Perhaps the mat she was selling isn't 100 percent wool but contains other materials thus making it separate.

I want one for my ironing board and then also one to put on top of the wooden snack table that I have next to me to use for convenient small pressing - I plan on using a barrier underneath on top of the wood. The little table measures 13 x 18 and it would be nice to have one that completely covered the top.

This is what I bought, I haven't used it yet, hopefully soon.

I have several. Different brands, different widths. Most are 3/4" two are only 1/2 inch. The table (which is sometimes my ironing board), under the narrower wool mat always gets very wet.
The other thing I've noticed is that some brands are not as smooth on the top as others. I have 2 that have... sort of ridges on them. Like those potato chips. Or like a washboard. Yep. And I don't like to use them. If you get a chance to see them before you buy (can't do that with online purchases), you might want to watch for that.

overall, I really like using the wool mats-especially with my small travel iron-right beside my sewing machine.

I also ordered from State Line. Wool pads made for horses work wonderfully. I posted about them on Facebook and a lot of people ordered...so much so that when I ordered a second one to expand my ironing table they were back ordered until the 24th. I can wait, because I already have one and use it daily.

I have heard that the Alpaca mats are better. I do have a small one that I really do like, but I can't compare it to the other wool mats because I have no experience with any other wool mat.