Besides a felting needle, a felting pad is your second most important tool when needle felting. A felting pad serves as an underlay for your project, and protects your needles and table top or lap.

There are several different types of underlays available, non of which are better than the other. It is simply a matter of preference.

it has excellent elasticity and does not change shape even after persistent pressing. It is a supplementary mat suitable for tight rolling, with a higher resistance to stress so it wears out less easily.  However, due to its excellent elasticity, the mat usually bounce slightly follow with needle movement, it makes wool felting slower.

One of the best needle felting underlay is the sponge.  Of course you could use just a big, yellow sponge – we have one in the garage for car washing. But there are some available for needle felting purposes. They do not have the sticky/velvety feel of the yellow sponge. They feel drier and are sometimes a bit softer. Technically, they are also a foam product, but they are much softer than the last option, so they are categorized as a sponge.

They are usually thicker than the foam options and therefore, can be easily used to work on your lap. I do recommend having a towel between the underlay and you leg, just in case. They also come in a variety of sizes and colors and do not make any noise when felting.

This also gets the bonus point due to its ability to serve as a needle holder as well.